THE  HOME 
GARDEN 


A Brief  Discussion  of  Garden  Soils  and 
How  They  Are  Built  Up,  Together 
With  Suggestions  For  Growing 
the  More  Common  Vegeta= 
bles.  Also  a Monthly 
Rlanting  Calendar. 


Cy  o/X*  \ O' 

By  W.  L.  HOWARD,  distant  Professor 
of  Horticulture  and  E.  H.  FAVOR,  As- 
sistant Horticulturist,  University  of  Mis- 
souri and  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  FRUIT-GROWER  COMPANY 
SAINT  JOSEPH,  MISSOURI 
1905 


vm% 

/ 


Brother  Jonathan 
Series 


Booklet  No.  4 


Vjji/ccjCi 


Introduction 


The  home  garden  is  so  intimately  associated  with 
the  well-being  of  the  family  that  it  becomes  one  of 
the  important  factors  in  the  make-up  of  the  estab- 
lishment. The  farmer  looks  upon  the  vegetable 
garden  as  a necessity,  while  the  resident  of  city  or 
town  regards  the  first  products  from  his  little  plot 
of  ground  in  the  backyard  as  luxuries  which  money 
will  not  buy.  For  all  this,  neither  the  farmer  nor 
town  resident  is  living  up  to  his  possibilities  in 
providing  his  table  with  good  things  in  and  out  of 
season. 

It  is  a comparatively  simple  matter  to  grow 
things  in  season,  but  skill  is  required  to  grow  them 
' under  artificial  conditions.  It  is  this  last  phase  of 
gardening  that  is  being  given  more  and  more  atten- 
tion as  the  people  learn  that  by  using  simply  con- 
^structed  hotbeds  it  is  possible  to  produce  delicacies 
like  lettuce,  radishes,  etc.,  very  early  in  the  spring  or 
late  in  the  fall,  and  sometimes  during  the  winter  at 
. . a trifling  expense.  The  awakening  in  this  direction 
is  very  wide  and  great,  but  judging  from  the  number 
^ of  inquiries  received  at  the  Experiment  Station  there 
ware  many  who  feel  in  need  of  some  guidance  in  the 
^ way  of  plain,  brief  directions  for  growing  garden 
vegetables  for  home  use.  It  is  the  mission  of  this 
booklet  to  try  to  fill  this  want.  No  effort  has  been 
made  to  give  directions  in  detail  for  growing  the 
various  crops,  as  such  a discussion  would  quickly 
have  led  beyond  the  limits  of  this  treatise. 


No  apology  is  necessary  for  occupying  so  much  in 
the  discussion  of  soils,  as  a good  soil  is  the  founda- 
tion of  a good  garden.  Without  the  soil  is  right 
failure  is  almost  sure.  Fortunately  the  principal 
materials  are  always  at  hand  for  building  up  good 


6 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


soils  from  uncongenial  locations.  The  value  of  barn- 
yard manures  for  this  purpose  can  scarcely  be  over- 
estimated. There  is  a popular  misunderstanding  in 
regard  to  what  the  average  soils  need  to  make  them 
congenial  for  vegetable  growing.  While  plant  food,, 
or  actual  fertility  of  soil,  is  necessary  to  a degree,  it 
is  of  far  more  importance  that  it  be  porous  and  in 
good  physical  condition.  Commercial  fertilizers  will 
supply  fertility,  but  it  is  only  by  the  addition  of  large 
quantities  of  vegetable  fiber  (humus)  in  the  form  of 
manures  that  the  soil  becomes  porous,  warm,  quick 
and,  at  the  same  time,  fertile.  Other  factors  are  aids 
in  improving  many  soils,  but  it  should  always  be 
remembered  that  the  liberal  use  of  barnyard 
manures  is  the  most  important. 

The  Home  Garden 

The  Soil:  In  General — The  first  essential  to  suc- 
cess in  the  home  vegetable  garden  is  good  soil.  The 
soil  must  not  only  be  rich,  but  it  must  be  in  a proper 
mechanical  or  physical  condition.  By  this  it  is  meant 
that  it  must  be  porous  and  well  drained,  so  that  it 
will  warm  up  early  in  the  spring;  can  be  worked 
quickly  after  a rain,  and  will  not  bake  and  run  to- 
gether or  crack  open.  The  farmer  can  usually 
exercise  considerable  choice  as  to  the  location  for  a 
home  garden,  but  in  many  instances,  on  account  of 
the  scarcity  of  land,  or  as  a matter  of  convenience,  it 
is  necessary  to  locate  the  garden  near  the  residence, 
regardless  of  whether  the  soil  is  the  best  or  not. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  is  quite  possible  to  build 
up  a favorable  soil,  even,  where  the  natural  condi- 
tions are  extremely  bad.  The  soil  building  will  con- 
sist of  surface  and  tile  drainage,  if  necessary;  the 
addition  of  humus,  or  vegetable  fiber,  to  the  soil; 
and  otherwise  improving  the  physical  make-up  by* 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO. 


7 


FIG  1. 


FIG.  1.  Soil  much  magnified.  T!he  large  lumps  in  the  Il- 
lustration are  the  smallest  parts  of  the  soil  we  can  see  with 
the  naked  eye;  when  magnified,  each  lump  is  seen  to  consist  of  a 
large  number  of  very  small  particles  of  irregular  shapes  and  sizes. 
In  a good  soil,  when,  moist,  the  roomy  spaces  between  the  large 
particles  are  occupied  by  air,  while  each  of  the  very  small  parti- 
cles is  surrounded  by  a film  of  water  which  occupies  most  of  the 
spaces  between  them.  In  a wet  soil  the  large  spaces  are  filled 
with  water  instead  of  air. 


8 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


the  addition  of  sand  and  manures.  The  addition  of 
plant  foods  in  the  form  of  fertilizers  is  a secondary, 
consideration,  but  these  may  also  claim  some  atten- 
tion. In  order  to  intelligently  begin  the  work  of 
building  up  a good  garden  soil,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  know  something  of  the  general  make-up,  or 
structure,  of  soils.  -« 

A handful  of  ordinary  earth  from  a field  or 
garden  in  a good  state  of  tilth,  will  contain  a great 
many  things.  In  the  first  place,  what  is  usually 
known  as  the  soil  itself,  seems  to  be  a black  mass  of 
particles  of  different  sizes.  Upon  closer  examination 
this  mass  will  be  found  to  consist  of  material  much 
resembling  crushed  rock.  If  we  take  a very  small 
amount  of  this  material  and  place  it  under  a micro- 
scope which  magnifies  two  hundred  or  three 
hundred  times,  it  will  be  found  that  what  appeared 
to  the  naked  eye  as  little  lumps  of  “dirt”  is,  in 
reality,  a collection  of  very  fine  particles  of  matter 
loosely  stuck  together,  forming  the  supposed  lumps. 
The  interesting  part  of  this  last  discovery  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  small  lumps  visible  to  the  naked  eye 
are,  in  reality,  a large  collection  of  very  small  parti- 
cles which,  although  they  lie  close  together,  have  air 
spaces  between  them,  because  of  their  irregular 
shapes,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1. 

Soil  Water — When  water  falls  upon  the  earth  it 
is  said  to  soak  into  the  soil  and  disappear.  Most 
farmers  know  that  if  the  sub-soil  is  porous  enough 
to  allow  water  to  pass  through  it,  it  will  soon  drain 
off  after  a rain,  but  if  there  be  a layer  of  compact 
clay,  known  as  “hard-pan,”  some  distance  below  the 
surface,  it  is  a matter  of  common  experience  that  the 
soil  soon  becomes  saturated  and  water  stands  in  the  ^ 
soil  or  upon  the  surface,  draining  off  very  slowly. 
At  this  point  it  should  be  stated  that  the  water  is 


FRUIT-GKO WEB  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  9 


able  to  gain  an  entrance  into  the  soil  by  reason  of 
•the  air  spaces  between  the  soil  particles,  as  men- 
tioned above.  If  the  soil  is  in  a water-logged  condi- 
tion it  is  because  all  of  these  air  spaces  are  com- 
pletely filled  with  the  water.  Under  such  condition 
the  soil  is  said  to  be  wet.  When  the  soil  is  merely 
*moist  and  in  proper  condition  for  growing  crops  and 
for  being  cultivated,  the  air  spaces  are  not  filled 
completely  with  the  water,  but  each  of  the  smaller 
particles  of  the  soil  is  merely  surrounded  by  an 
exceedingly  thin  film  of  the  water.  This  may  be 
illustrated  by  dipping  a small  stone  in  a cup  of  water. 
After  shaking  as  much  of  the  water  off  as  can  be 
removed  in  this  manner,  the  stone  is  still  seen^to  be 
moist,  while  no  water  can  actually  be  seen  to  be 
standing  upon  it.  Such  a stone  is  merely  surrounded 
by  a film  of  water.  In  a fine  soil  there  will  be 
thousands  of  little  particles  in  a single  cubic  inch  of 
the  earth,  so  that  it  is  readily  seen  that  if  each  one 
of  the  particles  is  surrounded  by  a film  of  water, 
such  a soil  is  not  at  all  wet,  being  merely  moist, 
yet  it  contains  in  the  aggregate  a great  deal  of 
water.  Many  farmers’  boys  are  familiar  with  the 
fact  that  a moist  soil,  which  is  in  good  working 
condition,  can  be  taken  up  with  the  hand  and  by 
constantly  rolling  and  pressing  between  tbe  hands 
can  be  made  wet,  so  that  water  will  be  quite  notice- 
able on  the  surface.  This  is  because  the  pressure  has 
caused  the  fine  particles  to  be  forced  closer  together 
and  the  small  amount  of  water  adhering  to  each 
particle  has  crowded  to  the  surface. 

MAKE-UP  OF  SOILS  AND  SUB-SOILS. 

Soils  are  usually  classified  according  to  the  size 
of  the  particles  of  which  they  are  made  up,  it  being 
remembered  that  the  particles  consist  of  either  sand 


10  ] 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


or  clay,  the  former  being-  composed  of  fragments  of 
a very  hard  kind  of  rock  (quartz)  and  the  latter , 
being  fine  dust,  resulting  from  the  decomposition,  or 
rotting,  of  other  kinds  of  rock.  This  makes  up  what 
is  known  as  the  mineral  part  of  the  soil.  All  of  the 
earthy  matter  -except  the  surface  layer  which  we 
cultivate,  is  of  this  nature,  although  there  is,  in- 
addition  to  the  sand  and  clay  mentioned,  varying 
amounts  of  fragments  of  rocks  of  different  shapes 
and  sizes,  from  the  finest  gravel  to  the  largest 
boulders. 

The  surface  layer. of  the  soil  is  materially  differ- 
ent from  that  below.  It  is  usually  much  darker  in 
color  than  the  sub-soil;  it  is  much  looser  and  more 
porous  than  the  clay  beneath,  and  every  farmer 
knows  it  is  far  richer.  Both  the  color  and  the  fertil- 
ity of  the  top  soil  are  due  to  the  presence  of  decayed 
vegetable  matter.  Countless  generations  of  vegeta- 
tion have  liv-ed  and  died  on  our  average  soils  and 
this  decayed  matter  has  formed  what  is  known  as 
luimiis.  In  nature,  humus  is  formed  rapidly  in 
woodlands  by  the  annual  crop  of  decaying  leaves,  if 
fire  is  kept  out.  Humus  also  supplies  fiber  to  the 
soil.  This  fiber  is  secured  in  garden  soils  by  plowing 
under  any  kind  of  vegetation  as  rye,  clover,  manure, 
or  the  refuse  of  the  garden.  All  of  this  decays  and 
becomes  humus.  The  humus  improves  th-e  physical 
condition  of  the  soil  by  making  it  loose,  open  and 
mellow;  by  enabling  it  to  hold  moisture;  by  prevent- 
ing it  from  becoming  compact  and  baking  after 
rains.  The  humus  itself  contains  a great  deal  of 
plant  food.  It  also  assists  in  converting  the  mineral 
matter  of  the  clay  and  fragments  of  rock  into  plant 
food.  The  chief  reason  for  the  almost  extravagant 
use  of  stable  manures  by  market  gardeners  is  the 
addition  of  humus.  Lands  which  are  thus  manured 
year  after  year  have  a tendency  to  become  well 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  11 


drained,  loose  and  warm.  When  fertilizers  are  added 
to  such  soil  they  act  quickly.  The  land  can  be  tilled 
9 at  almost  any  time  in  the  growing  season  and  when 
one  crop  is  off  another  can  be  put  in  immediately. 

Drainage — Almost  the  first  thing  to  be  considered 
in  building  up  an  unfavorable  soil  is  the  matter  of 
* drainage.  The  best  drainage  is  that  which  is  pro- 
vided by  nature,  which  is  a matter  of  slope  and  the 
character  of  the  sub-soil,  which  will  either  hold  the 
water  or  allow  it  to  settle  down  quickly.  There  are 
two  methods  of  draining  the  soil:  First,  by  means 
of  surface  ditches;  and,  second,  underdraining  by 
the  use  of  tiles.  For  temporary  purposes,  surface 
drainage  may  be  used,  or  the  land  may  be  ridged  so 
that  the  surface  water  is  taken  off  in  the  dead  fur- 
rows. This  surface  drainage,  however,  results  only 
in  carrying  'off  superfluous  water  and  does  not  have 
much  effect  on  improving  the  land  in  the  way  in 
which  underdrains  do.  Underdraining  is  practiced 
for  two  purposes — to  carry  off  the  water  that  stands 
in  the  soil,  thus  filling  up  all  of  the  air  spaces  be- 
tween the  particles,  and  to  improve  the  physical 
texture  of  the  soil.  All  low  and  boggy  lands  need  to 
be  drained  to  get  rid  of  the  extra  water.  Very  stiff 
clay  lands,  which  are  generally  dry  and  hard,  usu- 
ally can  be  much  improved  in  their  grain,  or  texture, 
by  a good  system  of  underdrainage.  The  explanation 
is  as  follows:  If  water  stands  long  in  clay  lands  it 
tends  to  cause  the  soil  to  run  together  and  become 
hard.  If  the  superfluous  water  is  quickly  taken  off, 
however,  this  cementing,  or  hardening,  does  not  take 
place.  The  soil  is  thereby  made  looser,  or  in  a better 
physical  condition.  This  loose  or  friable  condition 
of  the  soil  enables  it  to  hold  more  moisture  than 
m when  it  is  hard  and  brick-like.  For  vegetable 
gardening  purposes,  particularly  if  quickest  results 
are  derived,  it  is  necessary  to  underdrain  hard  clay 


12 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


lands,  even  if  they  are  not  wet.  It  makes  them 
workable  early  in  the  spring  after  rains,  seeds 
germinate  earlier  and  plants  obtain  a quicker  foot- 
hold. 

The  depth  of  the  drains  and  the  distance  apart 
will  vary  with  the  different  soils.  In  general,  the 
deeper  the  drains  the  deeper  will  be  the  effect  on 
the  soil  and  the  greater  the  area  which  they  drain. 
As  a matter  of  practice,  however,  it  is  found  that 
four  feet  is  usually  the  greatest  depth  and  three 
feet  the  least.  Wet  lands,  or  very  hard  clay  lands, 
should  have  drains  at  a distance  of  not  more  than 
two  or  three  rods,  if  the  lands  are  to  be  put  in  the 
very  best  of  condition  for  market  gardening 
purposes. 

The  tiling  should  have  a diameter  of  at  least  three 
inches  on  the  inside,  should  be  of  the  plain,  un- 
glazed kind,  and  in  laying  care  should  be  exercised 
to  see  that  there  is  a fall  of  at  least  one  inch  to  the 
rod,  but  three  to  six  inches  would  be  better.  The 
home  garden  will  seldom  be  large  enough  in  extent 
to  necessitate  having  a main  drain  for  the  laterals  to 
empty  into. 

Fall  Plowing — It  is  a favorite  practice  with  the 
gardener  to  plow  land  in  the  fall.  Land  which  is 
plowed  in  the  fall  can  nearly  always  be  worked 
several  days  earlier  than  when  plowed  in  the  spring. 
It  dries  out  sooner.  If  a heavy  dressing  of  barnyard 
manure  is  turned  under  in  the  fall  the  weathering, 
freezing,  thawing,  etc.,  causes  it  to  break  down  and 
decay.  If  the  land  is  clean  and  in  good  condition  it 
will  not  need  to  be  plowed  again  in  the  spring  but 
can  be  worked  down  with  heavy  tools  like  the  spad- 
ing harrow  and  be  got  in  ideal  condition. 

Emphasis  should  be  laid  on  the  necessity  for 
plowing  the  land  deeply.  The  ordinary  twelve-inch 
plow  can  be  so  adjusted  as  to  cut  a furrow  from  six 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  13 


to  ten  inches  deep  and  care  should  be  taken  to  see 
that  it  does  not  feed  into  the  land  too  far,  thus 
* preventing-  all  of  the  soil  from  being  cut  and  turned 
over.  Lands  may  be  worked  earlier  if  they  are 
thrown  into  beds  or  ridges  by  the  fall  plowing  so 
that  the  dead  furrows  occur  every  eight  or  ten  feet. 
The  surface  water  is  then  carried  off  and  the  ridges 
- lie  so  high  that  they  dry  out  quickly. 

Where  lands  are  poorly  drained  by  reason  of  their 
containing  a high  percentage  of  clay,  thus  causing 
them  to  bake,  they  may  be  materially  improved  bv 
the  addition  of  sand.  By  the  use  of  both  sand  and 
barnyard  manure  in  large  quantities,  -extending  over 
two  or  three  seasons,  it  is  possible  to  build  up  a fine 
garden  soil  out  of  land  that  was  previously  useless 
for  that  purpose.  In  adding  manures  to  the  soil  it 
v would  be  much  better  if  the  material  is  thoroughly 
rotted.  It  thereby  becomes  quickly  mixed  with  the 
soil  and  its  plant  food  can  be  immediately  used  by 
the  plants. 

Tillage — At  the  present  time  the  great  emphasis 
in  good  gardening  is  placed  on  tillage.  There  are 
two  kinds  of  tillage;  first,  where  we  prepare  the  soil 
to  receive  the  crop,  and,  second  to  maintain  the  soil 
in  good  condition  for  the  growth  of  the  crop.  To 
prepare  the  soil  for  the  crop  the  land  should  be 
loosened  and  pulverized  as  deeply  as  ordinary  roots 
go.  To  maintain  the  soil  in  ideal  condition  for  grow- 
ing crops  the  surface  should  be  tilled  or  stirred  as 
often  as  it  becomes  crusted  or  compacted,  which  will 
nearly  always  be  the  case  after  each  shower  of  rain. 
If  the  land  is  thoroughly  tilled  before  any  crops  are 
planted  a great  deal  of  later  work  will  be  avoided. 
This  is  a fact  often  overlooked,  but  the  observant 
farmer  knows  that  if  the  land  is  stirred  deeply  and 
thoroughly  pulverized  previous  to  planting  to  any 
kind  of  cultivated  crop  that  there  is  much  less  labor 


14 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


involved  in  keeping  down  weeds  during  the  growth 
of  the  crop.  This  is  a considerable  item,  especially 
w'here  very  small  plants,  like  onions  from  the  seed, 
are  grown. 

The  rainfall  of  the  growing  season  is  often  in- 
sufficient for  the  crop;  the  plants  draw  on  the 
moisture  which  has  been  stored  in  the  soil  by  the 
winter  rains  and  snows;  therefore  it  is  very  im- 
portant to  save  this  supply  of  water  and  this  is  done 
by  careful  tillage  at  proper  intervals  to  keep  the 
surface  finely  pulverized,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
evaporation  of  the  moisture.  A mulch  made  of  fine 
dust  is  just  as  effective  in  keeping  the  soil  moist  as 
a mulch  made  of  grass  or  straw.  Even  if  some  part 
of  the  land  is  not  to  be  used  until  June  it  should  be 
fitted  early  and  lightly  harrowed  at  frequent  inter- 
vals until  the  crop  is  planted.  If  it  is  ever  allowed 
to  bake  and  crack  open  the  moisture  from  below 
comes  up  and  is  quickly  evaporated  and  lost. 

Rotation  of  Crops — Land  which  receives  identical 
treatment  year  by  year,  while  it  may  be  fertile 
enough  in  ordinary  plant  foods,  tends  to  become  un- 
productive and  unsatisfactory.  A rotation  is  useful 
because  it  gives  different  treatments  to  the  land. 
Any  fault  of  one  year  tending  to  be  corrected  by  the 
management  in  another  year.  Furthermore,  no  one 
element  of  plant  food  is  exhausted,  the  rotation 
tending  to  even  up  the  demand  on  the  soil  by  the 
different  crops.  Also,  one  kind  of  crop,  as  beans  or 
peas,  will  leave  the  land  in  good  physical  condition 
for  another  kind  of  crop.  Some  crops  demand 
different  methods  of  cultivation  from  others  and 
therefore  have  a tendency  to  destroy  weeds  and 
other  pests.  Finally  a rotation  of  crops  means  a 
rotation  in  tillage,  manuring  and  other  treatment. 
Rotating  crops  is  equivalent  to  resting  the  land,  in 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  15 


much  the  same  manner  that  a person  may  become 
rested  by  changing-  work. 

Fertilizing — A distinction  is  made  between  fertil- 
izers and  manures.  A fertilizer  does  nothing  but 
furnish  plant  food,  while  a manure  may  (and  usually 
^does)  supply  plant  food  and,  in  addition,  greatly 
improves  the  texture  or  physical  condition  of  the 
soil.  When  the  soil  has  been  thoroughly  fitted,  built 
up  and  improved,  by  the  means  mentioned,  it  is  then 
time  to  think  of  adding  plant  food.  This  plant  food 
may  be  supplied  in  the  form  of  some  concentrated 
fertilizer.  It  is  also  added  when  green  crops  are 
plowed  under  or  when  manure  or  compost  (well 
rotted  vegetable  matter  of  any  kind)  is  applied. 
From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  readily  understood 
why  the  addition  of  commercial  fertilizers  even  in 
bountiful  amounts,  may . not  insure  the  production 
of  a satisfactory  crop.  Without  the  soil  is  in  a good 
physical  condition  plants  cannot  grow  satisfactorily, 
no  matter  how  much  plant  food  there  may  be  pres- 
ent. On  the  other  hand,  a soil  that  is  built  up  by  the 
addition  of  vegetable  fiber  in  the  form  of  manures 
or  decayed  vegetation,  and  by  the  addition  of  sand 
to  further  improve  the  drainage,  while  it  may 
possess  only  moderate  fertility,  is  in  a good  mechan- 
ical condition  and  crops  will  thrive  in  it.  The  best 
results  are  usually  to  be  expected  when  there  is 
something  like  a rotation  in  the  fertilizing  of  the 
land,  stable  manures  being  used  alternately  with 
concentrated  or  commercial  fertilizers. 

The  kind  and  amount  of  fertilizers  to  be  used  are 
to  be  determined  by  several  circumstances.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  there  is  no  exact  means  by 
which  one  can  determine  what  fertilizers  he  shall 
apply.  A little  experiment  with  different  kinds  of 


16 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


fertilizers  on  two  or  three  of  the  leading  crops  on 
one  side  of  the  garden  is  the  readiest  means  of  an- 
swering the  question.  It  is  the  popular  belief  that 
a chemical  analysis  of  a plant  will  tell  exactly  what 
fertilizers  and  what  quantities  it  may  require.  Also 
that  the  chemist  may  analyze  the  soil  and  thereby 
determine  whether  the  required  fertilizers  are  pres- 
ent or  not.  Both  of  these  assumptions,  however,  are 
incorrect.  The  chemical  contents  of  plants  vary  in 
different  seasons  and  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
plant  and  also  with  the  soil  in  which  the  plant 
grows.  The  plant  may  take  up  more  than  it  needs 
when  some  element  is  abundant.  By  analyzing  the 
soil  the  chemist  can  tell  what  is  present,  to  be  sure; 
but,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  plants  cannot  use  any 
kind  of  food  unless  it  is  dissolved  in  water,  the 
chemist  has  no  means  of  telling  us  whether  the 
foods  he  found  in  the  soil  were  in  a condition  to  be 
used  by  the  plants  or  not.  In  making  the  analysis 
he  has  to  dissolve  everything  in  acids  and  therefore 
he  has  no  means  of  knowing  whether  they  could 
have  dissolved  in  water.  Another  difficulty  in  giving 
advice  for  fertilizing  land  is  the  variable  character 
of  the  soil.  The  sandier  and  more  uniform  the  land 
the  more  marked,  as  a rule,  will  be  the  effect  of 
commercial  fertilizers.  The  harder  the  clay  the  less 
marked,  in  general,  is  the  effect  although  the  addi- 
tion of  lime  may  exert  an  influence  in  making  such 
soils  more  porous. 

Again,  the  state  of  tillage  has  much  to  do  with 
the  efficiency  of  the  fertilizer.  The  element  which 
the  plant  needs  may  often  be  afforded  more  cheaply 
by  giving  better  tillage  than  by  adding  fertilizers,  for 
tillage  sets  at  work  the  forces  of  nature  which  un- 
lock the  plant  food.  On  the  other  hand  a fertilizer 
is  more  useable  by  plants  on  well  tilled  soil;  the 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  17 


plant  can  get  hold  of  it,  because  the  material  is  more 
easily  distributed  and  there  is  more  moisture  in 
which  it  may  dissolve.  The  good  gardener  is  the  one 
who  gets  the  most  out  of  his  land  by  means  of  stable 
manures  and  good  tillage  and  then  adds  a fertilizer 
to  get  more  out  of  it.  He  uses  fertilizer  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  an  extra  yield  rather  than  to  pre- 
vent the  soil  from  becoming  exhausted.  Fertilizer  is 
usually  a losing  investment  for  a poor  farmer  or 
gardener. 

As  a rule  most  garden  crops  require  a great  deal 
of  nitrogen.  This  is  the  fertilizing  element  that  is 
most  expensive  when  purchased  and  is  the  easiest 
lost  when  applied  to  the  soil.  Good  commercial 
sources  of  nitrogen  are  nitrate  of  soda  and  sulphate 
of  ammonia.  This  element  is  supplied  to  a consider- 
able extent  by  the  use  of  barnyard  manure,  or  by 
growing  leguminous  crops,  like  peas,  beans,  clover, 
etc.  The  other  two  fertilizing  elements  which  we 
expect  to  add  to  the  soil  are  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid.  The  first  is  supplied  commercially  by  muriate 
of  potash  and  unleached  wood  ashes.  The  latter  is 
secured  by  using  bone  compounds  and  fossil  phos- 
phates, as  South  Carolina  and  Florida  rock.  Of 
nitrate  of  soda,  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three 
hundred  pounds  per  acre  is  a good  application.  Of 
muriate  of  potash,  from  two  hundred  to  four  hun- 
dred pounds,  and  of  acidulated  South  Carolina  rock, 
from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  pounds.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  nitrogen,  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid  are  found  in  a great  many  different  materials, 
in  which  they  will  occur  in  varying  quantities;  but 
under  our  fertilizer  laws  each  brand  which  is  placed 
upon  the  market  is  accompanied  by  an  official 
analysis  showing  the  percentage  of  available  fertil- 
izing ingredients  which  it  contains.  From  these 
data  the  farmer  may  compute  the  amount  of  each  to 


18 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


use  on  his  land  by  making-  use  of  the  following 
formula  for  garden  crops: 

Nitrogen,  4 per  cent. 

Phosphoric  acid,  8 per  cent. 

Potash,  10  per  cent. 

LAYING  OUT  THE  GARDEN. 

The  size  of  the  garden  and  the  relative  amounts 
of  the  different  crops  grown  must  be  regulated  by 
the  size  of  the  family  and  their  fondness  for  particu- 
lar vegetables.  An  area  100x150  feet  is  generally 
sufficient  to  supply  a family  of  five  persons,  not  con- 
sidering the  winter  supply  of  potatoes,  but  the  area 
mentioned  must  be  well  tilled  and  handled.  It  is 
much  easier  to  cultivate  and  manage  the  different 
crops  when  they  are  planted  in  long  rows.  The  old 
practice  of  growing  vegetables  in  beds  usually  calls 
for  more  labor  and  expense  than  the  crop  is  worth. 
Even  if  the  available  area  is  only  twenty  feet  wide 
the  rows  should  run  lengthwise  the  plot  and  be  far 
enough  apart  (from  one  to  two  feet  for  small  stuff) 
to  allow  of  sufficient  room  for  passing  between  the 
rows  in  gathering  the  product  or  for  cultivating  with 
hand  wheel-hoes,  if  desired.  If  sufficient  land  is 
available  for  using  a horse  in  the  cultivation  none  of 
the  rows  should  be  less  than  thirty  inches  apart,  and 
for  large-growing  things  like  cabbage,  three  to  three 
and  a half  feet  is  better.  If  the  rows  are  long  it 
may  be  necessary  to  grow  two  or  three  kinds  of 
vegetables  in  the  same  row.  In  this  case  it  is  im- 
portant that  vegetables  requiring  the  same  general 
treatment  and  similar  length . of  season  be  grown 
together.  One  part  of  the  garden  plot  should  be  set 
aside  for  growing  crops  that  are  somewhat  alike;  for, 
example,  all  root  crops  might  be  grown  on  one  side, 
all  cabbage  crops  in  the  adjoining  space,  tomato, 


FRUIT- GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  19 


egg  plants  and  the  like  in  the  center,  and  all  corn 
• and  other  tall  things  on  the  opposite  side.  Those 
crops  that  continue  to  live  for  many  years  without 
replanting,  like  asparagus  and  rhubarb,  should  al- 
ways be  located  at  one  side,  where  they  will  not  in- 
terfere with  the  plowing  and  cultivation.  " * 

In  a family  garden  of  100x150  feet,  with  the  rows 
running  the  long  way,  eight  or  ten  feet  may  be  re- 
served on  the  borders  for  asparagus,  rhubarb,  sweet 
herbs,  flowers  and,  possibly,  a few  berry  bushes.  A 
strip  twenty  feet  wide  might  be  used  for  vines,  like 
cucumbers,  melons  and  squashes.  The  remaining 
seventy  feet  will  be  room  enough  for  twenty  rows 
three  and  a half  feet  apart.  This  area  is  large 
enough  to  allow  of  good  results  in  rotation  and  if  it 
is  properly  managed  should  remain  highly  pro- 
ductive for  a life  time. 

HOTBEDS  AND  COLDFRAMES. 

Hotbeds  are  devices  supplied  with  bottom  heat 
from  fermenting  manure,  of  other  sources,  for  the 
purpose  of  growing  plants  out  of  season,  or  for 
forcing  them  into  a quick  growth.  More  farmers, 
and  even  city  residents,  should  learn  to  make  use  of 
the  hotbed.  A hotbed  is  made  by  digging  a pit  in 
the  ground,  4x6  feet  in  size  and  18  inches  deep.  Set 
a small  post  in  each  corner  to  which  to  attach  the 
framework.  In  building  a single  bed,  the  long  way 
should  be  north  and  south.  The  sides  and  ends  are 
boxed  up  from  the  bottom  with  any  kind  of  rough 
boards.  If  the  soil  be  of  a nature  that  is  not  likely 
to  cave  in  on  the  sides,  the  board  work  may  be  only 
above  ground.  When  completed,  the  cover  for  the 
bed  should  have  a good  slope  toward  the  south  in 
order  to  carry  off  rains  or  melting  snow  quickly. 
The  north  end  of  the  frame  should  be  at  least  twelve 
inches  high  and  the  sides  eight  inches. 


20 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


The  best  cover  is  made  by  using  a wooden  frame- 
work, employing  strips  not  over  three  inches  wide, 
with  narrow  wooden  strips  about  ah  inch  thick,  run- 
ning lengthwise  only.  Panes  of  glass  should  be  fitted 
into  the  grooved  strips  in  such  a way  that  they  will 
lap  over  each  other  shingle  fashion,  the  laps  being 
only  about  a quarter  of  an  inch.  After  danger  of 
severe  freezing  is  passed  a much  cheaper  covering 
for  the  bed  may  be  made  by  tacking  to  a board 
frame  a sheet  of  thin  cloth,  which  has  been  soaked 
in  linseed  oil.  New  domestic  is  good  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  cover  should  admit  as  much  sunlight  as 
possible,  glass,  of  course,  being  the  best.  An  oiled 
cloth  also  admits  considerable  light,  will  turn  water 
and  is  inexoensive. 

The  hotbed  pit  should  be  filled  with  fresh 
manure  from  a horse  barn,  making  sure  that  the 
material  has  not  been  exposed  to  the  weather.  The 
manure  should  be  spread  in  the  pit  uniformly  and 
firmed  down  well,  taking  car-e  that  all  the  corners 
are  filled,  otherwise  the  "bed  will  be  unevenly  heated. 
Over  the  manure  put  a layer  of  rich  soil  five  or  six 
inches  deep.  This  soil  should  be  made  of  a mixture 
of  one  part  good  garden  soil  to  two  parts  of  a mix- 
ture of  equal  amounts  of  rotted  sod,  sand  and  thor- 
oughly rotted  manure.  Water  thoroughly,  so  that 
the  manure  is  wet  to  the  bottom.  In  four  or  five 
days  the  manure  should  begin  to  ferment  and  give 
off  heat.  If  all  goes  well,  the  bed  will  become  very 
hot,  so  that  a thermometer  to  plunge  in  the  soil 
would  be  very  useful.  When  the  temperature  gets 
down  to  about  80  degrees  the  seeds  or  plants  may 
be  placed  in  the  soil.  In  the  latitude  of  Missouri  a 
bed  of  this  kind  may  be  made  in  late  February  or 
March  and  vegetables  like  lettuce,  radishes,  etc.,  will 
be  ready  for  table  use  by  the  time  it  will  ordinarily 
do  to  sow  the  earliest  seeds  in  the  garden  in  spring. 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  21 


The  hotbed  will  require  regular  watering  every 
day  or  two,  depending  upon  the  state  of  the  weather. 
Also  the  growing  plants  must  have  an  abundance  of 
fresh  air.  Each  day,  about  the  middle  of  the  fore- 
noon, if  the  air  is  not  cold  enough  to  freeze  the 
plants,  one  end  of  the  sash  should  be  propped  up  a 
few  inches.  See  Fig.  2,  On  warm,  sunny  days  the 
sash  may  be  left  up  until  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon. If  severely  cold  weather  is  expected  at  any- 
time the  outside  of  the  frame  should  be  banked  up 
with  manure  or.  earth  and  the  sash  covered  with 
manure,  a board  cover  or  a mat  of  some  kind.  The 
best  location  for  a hotbed  is  on  the  south  side  of  a 
building  or  high  board  fence,  where  it  will  receive 
the  full  benefit  of  the  sun  all  day. 

Hotbeds  are  perhaps  most  useful  for  starting 
plants  early  and  afterwards  transplanting  them  to 
the  garden,  although  certain  crops  may  be  grown  to 
maturity  in  them.  Radishes  may  be  made  to  grow 
to  perfection  in  twenty-seven  days,  or  less  time,  from 
the  date  of  planting  the  seed. 

Coldframes — A coldframe  has  no  bottom  heat, 
otherwise  it  is  like  a hotbed.  The  exhausted  hot- 
beds are  often  used  as  coldframes  in  early  spring. 
Coldframes  are  very  useful  in  early  spring  for  start- 
ing vegetables  early  to  be  later  transplanted  to  the 
field.  Hotbeds  would  not  do,  as  they  would  force 
the  plants  too  fast.  Coldframes  are  also  useful 
for  receiving  plants  like  tomatoes,  which  have  been 
started  in  hotbeds,  or  forcing  houses,  but  require  a 
gradual  process  of  “hardening  off”  before  being 
transplanted  to  the  garden.  Another  use  for  cold- 
frames  is  for  wintering  young  cabbages,  lettuce  and 
other  plants  of  like  hardiness  which  are  sown  in  the 
fall. 

Where  the  coldframe  is  always  to  be  used  as 
such  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  the  deep  pit  in  the 


22 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


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shining-  on  the  glass  covers,  which  are  precisely  the 
same  as  the  sashes  for  covering  hotbeds.  In  gen- 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  23 


eral  gardening,  even  in  a small  way,  the  coldframe 
is  almost  an  indispensable  companion  to  the  hot- 
bed. The  hardening  off  process  of  plants  is  the  im- 
portant step  between  the  hotbed  and  garden 
conditions. 

GARDEN  SEEDS. 

Longevity  of  Seeds — Seeds  of  every  kind  are  little 
undeveloped  plants  Wrapped  up  in  some  kind  of  a 
protective  covering.  The  length  of  time  that  a 
seed  will  live  varies  with  the  kind,  the  conditions 
under  which  it  was  grown,  the  degree  of  ripeness 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  stored  and  handled. 
There  is  a limit  to  the  life  of  every  seed,  yet  when 
this  limit  is  reached  there  may  be  no  evidence  in  the 
seed  itself,  either  outside  or  inside,  to  indicate  the 
loss  of  vitality. 

Testing  Seeds — In  order  to  determine  whether 
seeds  are  dead  or  worth  planting  it  is  necessary  to 
test  them.  The  seed  test  should  be  made  well  in  ad- 
vance of  the  planting  season,  so  that  in  case  they 
are  found  to  be  unsatisfactory  there  will  still  be  an 
opportunity  to  replace  them  before  planting  time. 
In  testing,  a certain  number  of  seeds,  say  fifty  or 
one  hundred,  should  be  selected  from  the  center  of 
the  package  and  planted  in  a box  of  sand  or  loose 
soil  and  kept  in  the  house.  By  noting  the  number  of 
seeds  that  come  up  it  is  a simple  matter  to  deter- 
mine the  percentage  of  good  seeds  in  the  package. 
It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  mere 
fact  of  the  sprouting  of  a seed  is  not  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  it  will  make  a good  plant.  The  seeds 
should  sprout  uniformly  and  come  up  evenly  and 
show  evidence  of  making  vigorous  plants.  Seeds  are 
often  adulterated  by  having  mixed  with  them  others 
of  inferior  varieties  which  have  been  killed  by  bak- 
ing in  order  to  prevent  the  fraud  being  detected,  or 


24 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


the  seeds  of  weeds  or  other  plants  may  be  put  in  to 
help  make  up  the  bulk.  All  of  these  things  will  be 
detected  in  a seed  test. 

GARDEN  CROPS. 


FIG  3. 

FIG.  3.  One-year-old  asparagus  plants  grown  by  Missouri  Ex- 
periment Station.  Seeds  were  planted  in  hotbeds  in  February  and 
plants  moved  to  the  garden  late  in  April.  Suc*h  a plant  is  strong 
enough  to  permit  of  cutting  the  young  stems  the  second  season 
when  ordinarily  this  could  not  be  done  until  the  third  year. 

Asparagus — This  is  one  of  the  crops  that  live  year 
after  year  without  replanting  and,,  being  so  easily 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  25 


kept,  it  deserves  to  be  more  widely  grown  by  farm- 

• ers.  Asparagus  is  especially  adapted  to  a place  in 
the  small  garden  of  the  town  or  city  resident. 
Asparagus  is  a gross  feeder;  land  can  scarcely  be  too 
rich.  Since  the  asparagus  plantation  should  be  made 
for  a lifetime,  it  is  well  to  give  careful  attention  to 

• the  selection  of  the  soil  and  to  the  choicest  place 
that  can  be  permanently  set  aside  for  the  purpose. 
In  the  home  garden  asparagus  should  be  in  rows  at 
one  side  of  the  garden  plot,  so  that  it  will  not  inter- 
fere with  the  plowing.  It  usually  looks  best  at  the 
farther  side,  where  its  beautiful  plants  make  an  at- 
tractive background  in  late  summer  and  fall.  The 
old  plan  of  planting  asparagus  in  beds  is  not  the 
best.  One  row,  from  75  to  100  feet  long,  if  properly 
kept,  will  yield  a surprisingly  large  amount  of  the 
juicy,  succulent  stalks,  and  will  be  enough  for  table 
use  in  season  for  the  average  family. 

In  buying  plants  secure  the  best  one-year-old 
crowns  obtainable.  See  Fig.  3.  Asparagus  roots  do 
not  grow  straight  down  in  the  soil  very  well  unaided, 
so  they  should  be  planted  deeply.  Planting  is  usu- 
ally done  in  the  spring.  A furrow  six  to  ten  inches 
deep  should  be  opened  and  the  plants  set  in  the  bot- 
tom. The  roots  should  be  covered  with  loose  soil  or 
thoroughly  rotted  manure  or  other  vegetable  matter 
to  a depth  of  two  or  three  inches.  As  the  plants 
grow  the  trench  is  gradually  filled  with  soil.  If  the 
trench  were  filled  at  first,  the  young  plants  might 
not  have  strength  enough  to  push  through  to  the 
surface.  The  plants  should  be  set  from  two  to  three 
feet  apart  in  the  rows  and  by  fall  the  furrows  should 
be  filled  until  they  are  level  with  the  rest 
of  the  ground.  If  the  soil  is  not  naturally  rich,  the 

• furrow  should  be  dug  deeper  than  the  figures  given 
and  partially  filled  with  very  rich  soil,  or  with 
composted  manure. 


26 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


The  plants  should  have  two  full  seasons’  growth 
before  any  of  the  shoots  are  cut;  that  is,  the  first 
cutting1  is  done  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  season. 
Sometimes  a few  stalks  are  taken  the  second  year, 
but  it  is  usually  better  to  wait  until  the  third  season, 
when  the  plants  will  have  become  thoroughly  estab- 
lished. It  is  easy  to  injure  the  bed  by  cutting  it  for 
too  long  a period  each  season.  Begin  to  cut  in  the 
spring  as  soon  as  the  first  stalks  appear  above  the 
ground  and  cease  not  later  than  the  first  of  July. 
It  would  be  even  better  to  discontinue  the  cutting 
by  the  middle  of  June.  During  the  time  the  crop  is 
being  harvested  every  stalk  should  be  removed,  even 
though  many  are  too  small  and  poor  for  use.  After 
the  harvest  time  is  over  the  plants  are  allowed  to 
grow  with  freedom  and  it  is  the  growth  that  they 
make  during  the  remainder  of  the  season  that  en- 
ables them  to  store  up  enough  energy  in  the  crowns 
to  make  the  vigorous  growth  they  do  so  early  in  the 
spring.  Without  there  is  a heavy  top  growth  after 
the  cutting  season,  one  cannot  expect  a good  growth 
of  roots  and  a heavy  crop  of  young  stems  during  the 
following  year. 

Late  in  the  fall,  after  the  tops  have  died,  they 
should  be  mowed  down,  raked  off  of  the  patch  and 
burned.  If  allowed  to  remain  on  the  ground,  al- 
though they  would  furnish  some  winter  protection, 
the  berries  they  contain  would  find  their  way  into 
the  soil  and  there  would  be  so  many  seedling  plants 
as  to  make  trouble.  Furthermore,  asparagus  is  at- 
tacked by  a rust  disease  which  thrives  on  the  plants 
during  late  summer.  Burning  destroys  the  germs  of 
the  disease,  which  would  otherwise  be  left  on  the 
ground. 

After  the  tops  are  removed  the  rows  should  be 
mulched  heavily  with  old  manure,  which  is  to  fur- 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  27 


nish  winter  protection  and  to  add  fertility  to  the  soil 
In  the  spring  the  soil  should  be  thrown  toward  the 
middle  of  the  row  from  both  sides  with  a turning 
plow,  or  by  being  drawn  up  with  a hoe.  After  re- 
moving the  coarser  parts  of  the  material  with  rake 
or  fork  the  soil  immediately  over  the  row  should  be 
thoroughly  forked  up.  A little  practice  will  enable 
the  operator  to  turn  the  soil  over,  down  to  the 
crowns  of  the  plants  without  injuring  them.  Finish 
the  row,  which  is  now  a slight  ridge,  which  falls 
gently  towards  both  sides,  with  garden  rake  which 
will  leave  the  soil  in  fine  tilth.  The  rows  should  be 
tilled  occasionally  even  after  the  shoots  have  begun 
to  appear  above  ground,  although  these  later  culti- 
vations will  consist  of  stirring  only  the  immediate 
surface  of  the  soil,  preferably  with  a rake,  so  as 
not  to  break  off  the  young  shoots. 

It  is  customary  to  harvest  asparagus  by  cutting 
the  shoots  three  or  four  inches  beneath  the  surface 
by  means  of  a long  knife.  Any  long  butcher-knife 
will  serve  the  purpose.  The  blade  should  follow 
down  by  the  side  of  the  sprout  to  the  proper  depth 
and  by  a twist  of  the  wrist  force  it  through  the  bot- 
tom part  of  the  shoot,  all  the  while  holding  the 
sprout  with  the  left  hand.  If  a careless  person 
should  make  a wide  sweep  with  the  blade  through 
the  soil  a number  of  the  sprouts  not  yet  visible  above 
the  surface  would  certainly  be  cut  off  and  ruined. 
An  asparagus  planting  should  bear  being  cut  over 
each  day  if  there  be  suitable  growing  weather,  as  it 
is  customary  to  remove  the  sprouts  at  their  first  ap- 
pearance above  ground.  The  value  of  asparagus  lies 
in  its  succulence  and  tenderness.  These  qualities  are 
secured  by  very  rich  soil  and  by  thorough  attention 
to  good  tillage.  The  Conover  Colossal  and  Palmetto 
are  the  leading  varieties. 


28 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


Beans — The  common  beans  are  of  two  gen- 
eral types — the  bush  bean  and  the  pole  bean.  In 
this  country  the  bush,  or  “bunch,”  bean  is  by  far  the 
more  important,  since  it  can  be  grown  without  the 
labor  and  expense  of  providing  a support  upon 
which  the  plants  may  climb.  Bush  beans  are  grown 
both  as  field  and  garden  crops.  In  the  garden  they 
are  used  mostly  as  “string”  beans,  the  pods  being 
picked  when  they  are  two-thirds  grown  and  the 
pods  and  beans  together  being  eaten.  The  pods  of  a 
good  string  bean  are  those  which  have  no  “strings.” 
The  pods  snap  cleanly  in  two,  this  giving  rise  to  the 
common  name,  “snap”  beans.  In  order  for  string 
beans  to  be  of  the  best  quality,  they  should  make  a 
rapid  and  continuous  growth.  The  soil  should  be 
rich  and  well  cultivated. 

The  bean  is  a warm  weather  plant  and  therefore 
should  not  be  planted  in  spring  until  after  the 
weather  has  become  thoroughly  settled.  In  late  sum- 
mer plant  again  for  fall  use.  A succession  may  be 
had  all  summer. 

There  are  other  types  of  garden  bean  which  are 
used  as  “shell”  beans.  The  large,  soft  seeds  are 
used  just  before  they  begin  to  harden  and  the  pods 
are  not  eaten.  The  well  known  lima  beans  belong  to 
this  class.  Lima  beans  demand  a long  season  and 
continuous  growth,  especially  the  tall,  or  true,  lima 
varieties.  Since  the  flowers  are  sometimes  injured 
by  the  hot  dry  weather  of  mid-summer  it  is  well  to 
get  the  plants  started  as  early  as  possible  in  order 
that  some  of  the  fruit  may  be  set  before  the  hottest 
weather.  These  should  be  grown  upon  soil  that  is 
the  richest  and  which  is  in  the  best  physical  condi- 
tion. Soils  that  are  light  and  sandy  are  usually  to  be 
preferred.  The  tall  varieties  must  have  poles.  When 
poles  get  scarce  it  is  a good  plan  to  set  long  stakes 


FRUIT- GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  29 


ten  or  twelve  feet  apart  and  to  run  wires  or  heavy 
strings  from  pole  to  pole,  one  strand  near  the  top 
and  one  within  a foot  or  so  of  the  ground,  and  then 
to  connect  thes-e  with  strands  running  from  one  to 
the  other. 

Beet — The  garden  beet  is  easily  grown  and  is  a 
very  reliable  crop.  It  prefers  a very  rich,  loose  soil 
and  should  be  given  good  tillage,  especially  during 
the  early  part  of  the  growing  season.  For  home  use 
the  seed  should  be  planted  as  soon  as  the  ground  is 
in  workable  condition  in  the  spring,  planting  the 
seeds  rather  thickly  in  the  rows  and  then  thinning 
later,  wrhen  the  plants  can  be  pulled  out  and  used  for 
greens.  In  this  thinning  operation  the  plants  which 
are  left  should  stand  about  two  inches  apart,  at  the 
least.  This  leaves  room  for  the  great  enlargement 
of  the  roots  of  those  reserved  for  later  in  the  seison. 

In  the  home  garden  the  rows  should  be  about 
sixteen  inches  apart,  but  where  'greater  areas  are 
planted  than  the  garden  will  accommodate  and 
where  horse-power  cultivation  can  be  practiced  the 
rows  should  be  two  feet,  or  slightly  more,  apart.  As 
for  all  other  root  crops,  the  cultivation  must  be 
thorough,  and  especially  so  early  in  the  season,  in 
order  that  the  moisture  in  the  soil  will  not  be  lost 
through  evaporation,  but  reserved  for  the  use  of  the 
rapidly-enlarging  roots  of  the  beets.  This  cultiva- 
tion in  a small  plot  may  be  most  conveniently  done 
either  with  a wheel  or  hand  hoe,  cutting  off  all 
weeds  and  loosening  the  soil  for  an  inch  or  so  in 
depth.  In  field  culture,  where  horse-power  can  be 
used,  any  good,  fine-toothed  cultivator,  which  will 
stir  the  soil  thoroughly,  will  answer  the  purpose. 

Among  the  varieties  for  the  garden  those  giv'ng 
the  best  results  are  those  having  a small  top  with 
medium-sized  root,  of  regular  and  uniform  shape 


30 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


and  fine  grained.  They  are  in  the  best  condition  to 
use  when  about  two-thirds  full  grown,  as  then  they 
are  the  sweetest,  tenderest  and  most  succulent. 

Beets  are  easily  forced  by  sowing  the  early  ma- 
turing kinds  in  hot-beds,  where  they  should  receive 
practically  the  same  treatment  as  shall  be  described 
later  for  the  radish. 

Cabbage — Cabbage  can  be  grown  under  a greater 
variety  of  conditions  and  this  vegetable  will  endure 
more  lack  of  care  than  any  of  the  other  garden 
crops,  but  like  all  other  crops  it  quickly  responds 
to  suitable  conditions  and  must  be  given  the  highest 
cultivation  for  its  best  development.  A good  clay 
loam,  when  well  supplied  with  barnyard  manure, 
makes  one  of  the  best  soils  for  cabbage,  and  for  the 
earliest  maturing  varieties  the  soil  must  be  especially 
well  fertilized.  In  some  of  the  eastern  sections  of 
the  country  it  is  occasionally  necessary  to  change 
the  land  on  which  cabbage  is  grown  on  account  of  a 
disease  which  attacks  the  roots. 

The  varieties  of  cabbage  are  divided  into  the  early 
and  late  sorts,  and  the  methods  of  cultivation 
adapted  to  the  early  varieties  are  somewhat  differ- 
ent from  those  followed  in  growing  the  late  varieties. 
In  growing  the  early  sorts  the  seed  should  be  sown 
rather  thickly  in  flats  in  the  hotbed  early  in  the 
season.  As  soon  as  the  seedlings  have  made  their 
first  pair  of  leaves  they  should  be  transplanted  into 
other  flats  and  given  more  room,  so  as  to  make 
strong,  stocky  plants  which  will  be  able  to  stand 
alone  when  set  in  the  field,  even  if  they  are  some- 
what wilted.  While  in  the  hotbed  the  plants  -should 
not  be  forced  in  the  least  or  they  will  become  too 
spindling.  About  five  or  six  weeks  after  sowing  the 
plants  should  be  hardened  off  and  when  they  are 
about  six  or  seven  weeks  old  they  are  ready 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  31 


to  be  set  in  the  field.  In  setting  them  a hole 
.should  b-e  made  in  the  soil  with  a small  dibber  and 
the  plants  set  well  down  with  the  soil  firmed  tightly 
about  the  roots.  Where  cultivation  with  a hoe  is 
practiced  the  plants  may  be  set  about  eighteen 
inches  apart  each  way,  but  if  a horse-power  culti- 
vator is  used  the  rows  had  better  be  two  or  three 
feet  apart  for  easier  cultivation. 

Cultivation  should  begin  immediately  after  set- 
ting the  plants,  and  after  each  rain  the  surface 
should  be  stirred  as  soon  as  the  ground  can  be 
worked,  or  at  least  once  a week  until  the  crop  is 
ready  to  harvest. 

For  late  varieties  of  cabbage  it  is  not  necessary 
that  the  soil  be  as  rich  as  for  the  early  varieties,  the 
heavier  field  soils  answering  the  purpose  quite  well. 

The  seed  of  the  late  varieties  are  either  planted 
in  a seed-bed  in  the  field  or  garden,  or  in  small  hills 
about  the  field  where  the  plants  are  to  mature.  The 
former  method  leaves  the  space  in  the  field  to  be 
occupied  by  some  early-maturing  crop,  while  the 
cabbage  plants  are  growing  to  a sufficient  size  for 
planting  out, ’but  it  has  the  objection  of  requiring 
the  plants  to  be  set  out  at  a time  when  the  soil  is 
usually  quite  dry  and  the  plants  consequently  suffer 
from  lack  of  moisture.  Where  grown  in  hills,  only  a 
few  seeds  are  planted  in  a hill  and  as  soon  as  the 
plants  begin  to  crowd  each  other  all  but  the  strong- 
est are  removed.  This  has  the  advantage  of  not  re- 
quiring the  transplanting  to  be  done  during  dry 
weather  and  allows  the  plants  to  mature  at  an  earlier 
date  than  when  transplanted. 

Carrot — This  is  one  of  the  most  easily  grown  root 
• crops  for  the  home  garden,  a fact  which  is  not  well 
appreciated,  as  it  should  be.  The  carrot  is  a rank 
feeder  and  does  best  in  a rich  upland  soil  or  in  a 


32 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


heavy  clay  soil  heavily  fertilized  with  barnyard 
manure.  For  home  use  the  carrot  can  be  grown  in 
almost  any  soil  which  is  not  too  wet.  The  soil  should 
be  put  in  good  condition  before  planting  the  seed, 
and  as  the  seed  germinate  slowly  care  must  be  exer- 
cised to  have  the  land  as  free  from  weed  seeds  as 
possible,  or  else  some  quick  germinating  seed,  such 
as  radish,  should  be  sown  with  the  carrots  so  as  to 
mark  the  rows  and  allow  cultivation  to  proceed. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  in  drills  about  a foot  or 
eighteen  inches  apart  early  in  May,  and  should  not 
be  planted  too  thickly  owing  to  the  cost  and  trouble 
of  thinning.  Where  the  soil  is  very  rich  the  thinning 
should  be  done  so  as  to  leave  the  plants  about  two 
or  three  inches  apart  for  the  larger  varieties,  but  in 
the  heavier  soils,  which  will  not  give  such  great  roo: 
development,  the  plants  can  stand  closer  together. 

The  young  plants  are  quite  delicate  and  during 
the  early  part  of  the  season  especially  the  cultiva- 
tion must  be  verv  thorough  in  order  to  keep  the 
weeds  in  check  and  not  allow  the  young  plants  to  be 
smothered. 

For  a late  crop  it  is  not  necessary  to  plant  the 
seed  till  June  or  July,  but  otherwise  they  are  treated 
the  same  as  the  early  crop  and  are  gathered  and 
stored  for  winter  use  just  before  freezing  weather. 

Cauliflower — Home  gardens  are  seldom  provided 
with  this  delicious  vegetable  owing  to  the  supposed 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  growing  it,  but  the  market 
gardener  finds  it  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  his 
garden  crops.  The  first  essential  in  growing  cauli- 
flower is  to  get  good  seeds.  Buy  the  best  obtainable 
seeds,  as  the  cheaper  grades  are  bound  to  produce 
failures  and  consequently  discourage  the  grower 
against  trying  again.  The  best  seeds  usually  cost 
about  S3. 50  per  ounce. 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  33 


Cauliflower  may  be  grown  as  a hotbed  crop  in 
winter,  or  as  a spring  vegetable  in  the  garden. 
Where  it  is  desired  to  grow  it  as  a hotbed  crop  the 
seed  should  be  sown  in  early  winter  in  flats  (shallow 
boxes,  from  one  to  two  feet  square),  sowing  the  seed 
thickly  and  transplanting  the  seedlings  after  they 


fig  4. 

FIG.  4.  Cauliflower  heads  five  and  six  inches  in  diameter 
grown  in  hotebeds  in  late  winter  by  the  Missouri  Experiment  Sta- 
tion. 

have  made  the  second  leaf.  When  about  six  weeks 
old  the  seedlings  may  be  set  in  the  hotbed  about  a 
foot  or  eighteen  inches  apart.  Only  enough  water 
should  be  applied  at  first  to  keep  the  plants  from 
becoming  badly  wilted,  but  as  soon  as  they  have 


34 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


taken  hold  of  the  soil  water  may  be  applied  more 
liberally.  In  hotbed  culture  great  care  must  be 
given  to  the  ventilation  and  on  every  day,  when  it  is 
possible  to  raise  the  sash  over  the  frames  without 
chilling  the  plants  too  much,  they  should  be  raised, 
if  only  a few  inches.  See  Fig.  4 for  specimens  of 
cauliflower  heads  grown  in  hotbeds. 

Since  the  roots  of  the  cauliflower  run  very  close 
to  the  surface  and  it  is  not  always  practicable  in  the 
hotbed  to  cultivate,  it  is  a common  practice  to  scat- 
ter a thin  layer  of  rich,  friable  soil  over  the  surface 
between  the  plants.  As  the  plants  reach  maturity 
they  must  be  given  more  air,  and  it  is  often  advisable 
to  give  an  occasional  application  of  manure,  from 
either  the  cow  stable  or  the  poultry  yard. 

When  the  heads  begin  to  form,  three  or  four  of 
the  inner  leaves  should  be  broken,  so  as  to  fold  over 
the  head.  This  protects  the  head  from  light  and 
keeps  it  from  becoming  loose  and  open. 

In  growing  cauliflower  in  the  field  the  seed 
should  be  treated  in  practically  the  same  way  as 
cabbage,  and  when  the  seedlings  are  properly 
hardened  and  all  danger  of  frost  is  over  they  are 
ready  to  be  set  in  the  field.  The  field  soil  must  be 
of  the  richest  obtainable;  a strong  loam,  having  a 
liberal  amount  of  well  rotted  manure  incorporated 
with  it,  is  the  best  soil.  The  subsequent  treatment 
is  practically  the  same  as  that  given  for  cabbage. 

In  field  culture,  when  the  crop  is  in  danger  of 
being  injured  by  an  early  frost,  it  is  sometimes  ad- 
visable to  pull  up  all  of  the  immature  heads,  with 
the  roots  and  leaves,  and  set  them  out  in  a cool  cellar 
or  a coldframe,  where  many  of  them  will  develop 
fair-sized  heads. 

No  matter  whether  being  grown  in  the  hotbed 
or  garden,  two  things  must  be  borne  in  mind  regard- 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  35 


ing  cauliflower;  first,  the  seed  must  be  the  best 
possible  to  obtain.  The  cauliflower  is,  of  all*  garden 
plants,  the  most  liable  to  deteriorate  unless  scrupu- 
lous care  is  given  to  the  selection  of  seed,  and  even 
the  best  stock  will  “run  out”  unless  the  requisite 
skill  and  care  in  growing  the  seed  be  continually 
observed.  The  difference  between  the  very  best  seed 
and  moderately  good  seed  will  usually  result  in  an 
excellent  crop  in  the  one  and  a complete  failure  in 
the  other.  Second,  cauliflower  is  a gross  feeder  and 
the  amount  of  fertility  in  the  soil  must  be  at  the 
maximum  for  the  best  results. 

Celery — Celery  is  a garden  crop  that  is  grown 
principally  for  the  fleshy  leaf  stalks  which,  after 
being  blanched,  are  eaten  raw  with  salt,  made  into 
salad,  or  cooked  and  served  like  asparagus. 

The  seed  are  sown  thickly  in  a flat,  or  hotbed, 
and  covered  with  a thin  layer  of  sand,  after  which 
the  soil  is  well  firmed.  These  are  then  kept  in  a 
moderately  warm  place  until  the  seed  germinate, 
which  will  take  several  days.  As  soon  as  the  seed 
have  sprouted  they  should  be  carefully  watered  until 
they  have  made  the  second  leaf,  when  they  are  to  be 
“pricked  out”  and  transplanted  to  other  flats,  where 
they  may  have  more  room.  The  seedlings  at  this 
stage  are  still  very  small  and  the  pricking  out  and 
transplanting  must  be  very  carefully  done,  placing 
them  into  new  flats  in  rows  about  three  inches  apart 
and  three-fourths  of  an  inch  apart  in  the  row.  It  is 
necessary  now  to  shade  them  for  a day  or  so,  until 
they  get  established,  after  which  they  may  be  ex- 
posed to  the  full  sunlight  and  left  until  they  are 
large  enough  to  set  out  in  the  field.  It  may  be  nec- 
essary, if  the  plants  have  made  a very  strong  growth, 
to  shear  off  about  one-third  of  the  top  of  each  plant. 
This  causes  a greater  root  growth  and  makes  the 


36 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


plants  more  stocky  and  better  able  to  fctand  the 
shock  of  transplanting  to  the  field. 

The  soil  best  for  celery  is  one  which  has  been 
made  very  rich  with  old  compost,  plenty  of  nitroge- 
nous material  and  abundantly  supplied  with  moisture. 
It  should  be  made  ready  to  receive  the  plants  before 
the  latter  are  removed  from  the  flats,  or  hotbeds. 
In  taking  up  the  celery  plants  to  set  out  in  the  field 
the  tops  and  roots  should  be  slightly  trimmed  to 
make  the  plants  stand  the  shock  of  transplanting 
the  better.  If  the  weather  should  fce  very  dry  at  this 
period  it  is  almost  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
plants  be  watered  in  some  way,  either  by  letting  the 
water  flow  along  the  row  or  by  pouring  a small 
quantity  of  water  about  each  plant  just  after  it  is 
set.  Just  on  this  account  many  persons  prefer  to 
have  their  celery  bed  located  near  a well  or  spring, 
where  it  is  easiest  to  get  the  water. 

Cultivation  during  the  early  part  of  the  season 
should  be  done  often  enough  to  keep  down  all  weeds 
and  to  conserve  the  moisture  in  the  soil;  later  in  the 
season,  as  the  plants  near  maturity,  cultivation  is 
stopped  on  account  of  the  blanching  process  which 
must  bp  undertaken. 

As  soon  the  the  leaf  stalks  reach  the  age  at  which 
they  become  large  enough  to  eat  it  is  necessary  to 
bleach  them  in  some  way  to  make  them  tender.  This 
is  done  primarily  by  shading  the  leaf  stalks.  An 
easy  way  in  a small  garden  is  to  gather  together  the 
leaf  stalks  of  each  plant  and  tie  around  them  several 
thicknesses  of  newspaper,  so  as  it  will  reach  from 
the  soil  to  the  top  of  the  plant,  leaving  only  a few 
of  the  topmost  leaves  sticking  out  of  the  paper 
cylinder.  Another  way,  and  perhaps  an  easier  one, 
is  to  place  wide  boards  on  each  side  of  the  row  close 
against  the  plants  and  leave  it  there  till  the  leaf 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  37 


stalks  are  sufficiently  blanched,  which  will  take 
from  two  weeks  to  a month. 

Still  another  method  is  to  grow  the  plants  so 
close  together  in  a bed  that  they  will  shade  each 
other,  making  it  necessary  to  protect  only  the  outer 
rows  with  boards.  Some  people  prefer  to  ridge  earth 
up  around  the  plants,  as  shown  in  Fig.  5.  This, 


FIG  5. 

FIG.  5 Blanching  celery  by  banking  the  soil  around  the  plants. 
The  tops  are  covered  with  straw  during  cold  nights. 

though,  is  a rather  laborious  process,  since  the 
leaves  on  each  plant  have  to  be  drawn  up  around 
the  crown  and  the  earth  packed  tightly  around 
around  them.  Although  the  most  laborious,  this 
method  produces  the  whitest,  tenderest  and  most 
succulent  stems  of  all. 


38 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


If  celery  is  to  be  kept  for  winter  use  it  must  be 
removed  from  the  field  before  severe  freezing  weather 
sets  in,  taking  up  a large  part  of  the  root  system 
with  the  tops  and  then  setting  out  again  in  a box  or 
cellar.  By  leaving  plenty  of  roots  on  the  plants  the 
tops  will  continue  to  grow  for  some  time  and  the 
leaves  produced  at  this  time  are  by  far  the  best. 

Com — Corn  for  table  use  is  more  commonly 
called  sweet  corn  and  its  cultural  characteristics  are 
essentially  the  same  as  for  field  corn. 

Sweet  corn  does  best  on  a medium  heavy  loam 
which  has  been  made  rich  and  warm  through  liberal 
application  of  manure  . In  manuring  a garden  spot, 
where  fresh  manure  has  been  applied,  sweet  corn 
may  be  very  satisfactorily  grown,  as  the  corn  thrives 
better  in  the  presence  of  fresh  manure  than  any  of 
the  other  garden  crops. 

The  seed  should  be  planted  in  hills  three  and  a 
half  feet  each  way,  or  in  drills,  having  the  rows 
about  the  same  distance  apart.  Early  in  the  season 
the  cultivation  should  be  rather  deep,  but  as  the 
plant  reaches  maturity,  only  the  surface  should  be 
stirred,  owing  to  the  shallow  rooting  of  the  mature 
corn  plant. 

The  dwarf,  early  maturing  varieties  are  the  best 
for  home  use,  and  for  a continuous  supply  through- 
out the  season  several  plantings  about  two  weeks 
apart  should  be  made. 

Cucumber — This  plant  does  moderately  well  under 
rather  unfavorable  conditions,  but  does  best  on  a 
deep,  rich,  retentive  loam  which  is  not  extremely 
heavy  or  sandy.  Soil  which  is  well  adapted  to  corn 
or  wheat  makes  good  cucumber  land.  The  seed 
need  not  be  planted  till  the  middle  of  May  or  first 
of  June,  when  the  ground  has  become  quite  warm. 
Plant  in  hills,  sowing  several  seed  about  in  the  hill 
so  as  to  provide  against  the  ravages  of  insects. 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  39 


These  seeds  should  be  covered  about  an  inch  deep 
*and  the  earth  firmed  well  over  them.  As  soon  as  the 
seedlings  are  up,  the  soil  about  them  in  the  hill 
should  be  loosened  up  after  each  rain  and  the  plant- 
lets  dusted  with  paris  green  or  some  substance  dis- 
tasteful or  poisonous  to  the  striped  beetles,  which 
* attack  the  plants  very  early  in  the  season. 

Cultivation  should  be  kept  up  throughout  the 
season,  or  until  the  vines  have  grown  to  such  an 
•extent  that  they  would  be  injured  by  the  work. 

Some  persons  prefer  to  start  the  seed  in  a hot- 
bed or  cold  frame  instead  of  planting  in  the  field, 
especially  for  a very  early  crop.  A common  practice 
for  this  purpose  is  to  sow  the  seed  in  an  old  straw- 
berry box,  tomato  can  or  flower  pot  and  then  trans- 
plant to  the  field  as  soon  as  of  sufficient  size.  An- 
other plan  is  to  sow  the  seed  on  inverted  pieces  of 
sod  five  or  six  inches  square.  Whichever  method  is 
used,  the  seedlings  must  be  hardened  off  before 
setting  in  the  field,  and  each  piece  of  sod  or  the 
soil  from  each  box  set  as  carefully  in  the  field  as 
possible,  for  the  cucumber  plants  do  not  well  stand 
the  shock  of  having  the  roots  injured. 

Eggplant — This  plant  is  quite  seisitive  to  cold, 
and  for  that  reason  is  not  very  extensively  grown 
in  the  north,  but  in  the  warmer  climates  it  can  be 
readily  grown  in  the  home  garden.  It  prefers  a 
deep,  rich,  loamy  soil  which  is  quite  dry,  enduring  a 
greater  drought  than  any  of  our  other  garden  crops. 

Since  it  takes  about  four  or  five  months  for  the 
egg  plants  to  reach  fruiting  age  it  is  necessary  to 
start  the  plants  early  in  a hot  bed  or  in  flats,  sow- 
ing the  seed  rather  thickly  and  transplanting  to 
other  flats  when  showing  the  second  leaf.  When 
* about  six  inches  high  the  plants  are  ready  to  be  set 
in  the  garden  and  should  be  set  in  rows  three  or 
four  feet  apart.  The  cultural  directions  are  prac- 


40 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


tically  the  same  as  for  cabbage,  except  that  it  re- 
quires a much  longer  season,  and  great  care  must 
be  taken  that  the  young  plants  are  not  checked  in 
their  growth.  After  setting  in  the  field,  however, 
every  effort  must  be  made  to  hurry  the  plant  into 
fruiting  before  the  approach  of  cold  weather. 

Ginseng — This  plant  has  created  a great  deal  of 
interest  among  all  classes  of  people  within  the  past 
few  years,  owing  to  the  large  prices  which  the  roots 
have  brought  on  the  market.  Ginseng  growing  can  b^ 
overdone,  owing  to  the  very  limited  market  for  the 
roots,  they  being  sold  almost  entirely  in  China.  Gov- 
ernment statistics  gathered  in  1904  seemed  to  indi- 
cate that  enough  ginseng  was  then  planted  to  more 
than  meet  the  demand  for  roots  when  the  beds  are 
old  enough  to  produce  the  marketable  product. 

The  plantings  are  usually  started  either  from  seed 
or  from  one-year-old  plants.  For  a quick  start  it 
is  best  to  begin  with  one-  or  two-year-old  plants, 
purchasing  them  from  some  ginseng  dealer,  as  it 
takes  from  a year  and  a half  to  two  years  for  the 
seed  to  germinate.  The  plants  must  be  set  no  closer 
than  a foot  apart  and  then  well  shaded  with  a 
screen  made  of  lath  or  branches  of  trees  supported 
on  some  sort  of  framework,  since  the  leaves  cannot 
stand  the  direct  heat  of  the  sun.  The  soil  for  gin- 
seng should  be  very  loose,  made  almost  entirely  from 
leaf  mould  or  very  thoroughly  rotted  manure.  Great 
care  is  necessary  in  setting  the  plants  to  see  that 
the  roots  are  spread  out  in  their  natural  positions, 
otherwise  they  will  not  increase  in  size.  When  the 
roots  are  four  years  old  they  are  ready  for  market- 
ing. The  roots  should  be  dug  just  after  the  leaves 
die  in  the  autumn,  being  careful  to  not  injure  any  of 
the  roots,  as  the  uninjured  or  unmutilated  roots 
bring  a higher  market  price.  Before  putting  the 
roots  on  the  market  they  must  be  dried,  and  this  is 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  41 


usually  done,  where  there  are  only  small  amounts, 
by  spreading  out  on  a board  in  the  sun  till  dry,  but 
usually  this  is  too  slow  a process.  A much  better 
method  is  to  place  in  a box  which  has  had  the  bot- 
tom replaced  by  a screen,  and  then  suspend  over  a 
stove  where  a current  of  warm,  dry  air  may  con- 
stantly pass  the  roots.  In  this  way  they  will  dry 

much  more  quickly  and  make  better  products  for 
the  market  than  when  sundried.  In  this  drying 
process  the  roots  as  a rule  lose  about  two-thirds  of 
their  weight.  Good  roots  on  the  market  bring  from 
40  to  50  cents  per  ounce,  dry  weight. 

Besides  the  roots,  ginseng  is  of  marketable  value 
in  another  way,  and  that  is  in  the  production  of  seed. 
A four-  or  five-year-old  plant  will  produce  from 

forty  of  fifty  seeds  annually,  and  these  retail  at  from 

2 to  5 cents  each,  at  the  present  time,  1905,  the 
buyers,  of  course,  being  persons  who  are  starting 
ginseng  beds. 

Ginseng  should  be  grown  only  on  a small  scale,  as 
the  expense  of  starting  a bed  amounts  to  consid- 
erable for  even  a small  one,  and  the  ease  with  which 
the  market  can  be  flooded  makes  it  an  unsafe  crop 
to  grow  in  a very  extensive  way.  With  the  Chinese 
ginseng  has  a superstitious  value  as  a preventive  or 
cure  for  nearly  all  ailments.  In  America  the  roots 
are  regarded  as  having  but  little  medicinal  value. 

Horseradish — This  is  one  of  the-  “old-fashioned” 
vegetables  which  is  not  as  extensively  grown  now-a- 
days  as  it  should  be.  It  is  so  very  easily  grown  and 
so  very  hardy  that  every  dooryard  should  have  a 
clump  to  furnish  this  delicious  condiment  for  home 
use. 

Horseradish  is  propagated  principally  from  root 
cuttings,  using  sections  about  four  or  five  inches 
long  and  from  the  size  of  a lead  pencil  to  that  of 
one’s  little  finger.  The  top  cut  from  the  root  is  gen- 


42 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


erally  thrown  away,  as  the  roots  formed  from  that 
portion  are  generally  so  small  that  it  does  not  pay 
to  bother  with  handling  them.  The  horseradish  does 
well  on  all  soils  excepting  those  which  are  excess- 
ively sandy  or  the  very  stiff  clays.  For  the  longest 
and  largest  roots  any  good  deep  loam  will  give  very 
satisfactory  results. 

In  planting,  the  cuttings  should  be  placed  right 
end  up  in  holes  made  with  a sharp-pointed  stick, 
setting  so  that  the  top  is  two  or  three  inches  below 
the  surface.  It  is  important  that  the  roots  be  set 
right  -end  up,  as  they  do  not  do  well  nor  make  well- 
shaped roots  when  set  bottom  end  up. 

Horseradish  should  occupy  a place  in  the  garden 
towards  one  side  or  end  where  it  will  not  be  in  the 
way  of  cultivation,  since  it  will  live  for  years  in  the 
same  place.  It  may  be  necessary  to  carefully  remove 
a part  of  the  bed  occasionally,  especially  if  the  plants 
are  spreading.  Where  it  is  desired  to  grow  the  roots 
principally  for  market,  the  beds  should  be  made 
anew  each  year,  planting  the  roots  in  rows  and 
growing  some  companion  crop  between  them. 

Kale — This  crop  is  handled  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  cabbage,  requiring  the  same  kind  of  soil, 

— a well  fertilized  clay  loam.  The  plants  are  very 
hardy,  and  except  in  the  extreme  northern  states 
may  be  left  out  over  winter  with  little  or  no  protec- 
tion. 

The  seeds  are  sown  in  a seedbed  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  late  cabbage,  and  transplanted,  when  four 
or  five  leaves  have  been  made,  into  the  field.  The 
rows  in  the  field  may  be  as  close  together  as  is  con- 
venient for  cultivation  and  the  plants  pulled  for  use 
as  soon  as  they  have  made  sufficient  growth. 

Kohlrabi — This  plant  is  a near  relative  of  the  cab-  * 
bage,  and  is  grown  for  the  enlarged  or  swollen  por- 
tion of  the  stem  just  above  the  ground,  which  is 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  43 


FIG.  6.  Heads  of  lettuce  of  different  varieties  grown  in  hotbeds  in  late  winter 
at  the  Missouri  Experiment  Station. 


44 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


used  for  the  same  purposes  and  in  the  same  way  as 
turnips.  In  some  parts  of  the  country  it  has  sup- 
planted the  turnip  as  a spring  vegetable.  The  seed 
should  be  sown  in  beds  where  the  plants  are  to 
mature,  and  the  plants  pulled  and  used  when  about 
two  or  three  inches  in  diameter.  Kohlrabi  should 
be  grown  in  a soil  containing  sufficient  fertility  to 
hasten  the  growth  of  the  plants,  as  in  this  way  the 
tubers  will  be  more  succulent  and  sweeter  and  not 
become  woody  or  bitter,  as  do  those  which  grow 
more  slowly. 

Leek — The  leek  is  closely  allied  to  the  onion, 
which  it  resembles  in  flavor,  and  its  cultural  require- 
ments are  practically  the  same.  The  seeds  are  sown 
in  a bed  in  light,  deep  loam  which  has  been  well 
prepared.  When  the  seedlings  are  about  six  or  eight 
inches  high  they  are  transplanted  into  rows  about 
eighteen  inches  apart  and  eight  or  nine  inches  in  the 
row.  In  transplanting,  both  the  tops  and  the  roots 
should  be  slightly  trimmed.  As  the  plants  grow, 
the  soil  should  be  gathered  up  about  the  stems  so 
as  to  insure  blanching,  as  it  is  th-e  blanched  stem 
which  is  most  desired.  It  requires  the  entire  season 
for  its  growth,  and  in  the  fall,  as  cold  weather  ap- 
proaches, the  plants  are  taken  from  the  soil  and 
stored  for  winter  use  in  the  same  manner  as  celery. 

Lettuce — Lettuce  is  one  of  the  most  extensively 
grown  of  all  garden  vegetables,  and  its  ease  of  cul- 
tivation makes  it  one  of  the  most  popular.  In  the 
home  garden  it  is  grown  principally  as  an  early 
spring  crop  in  the  open  ground,  but  it  is  very  ex- 
tensively grown  as  a hothouse  or  hotbed  crop.  For 
perfection  in  growth,  lettuce  needs  a cool  atmos- 
phere and  a loose,  rich  soil.  The  seeds  need  to  be 
started  in  flats  and  transplanted  to  hotbeds,  where 
they  are  set  about  a foot  apart  each  way  and  kept 
growing  rapidly.  The  cabbage,  or  heading,  sorts 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.a  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  45 


require  a rather  long’  season  and  considerable  care 
* for  perfect  development,  while  the  looser  kinds  may 
be  grown  more  easily.  In  the  home  garden  the  seeds 
may  be  sown  in  early  spring  in  good,  rich,  garden 
soil,  placing  the  seed  rather  thickly  in  rows  about  a 
t foot  apart.  As  the  seedlings  begin  to  crowd  each 
other,  thinnings  should  be  made.  These  plants  which 
are  removed  are  usually  large  enough  for  table  use. 
With  the  cabbage,  or  heading,  sorts  the  bed  should 
be  thinned  sufficiently  to  allow  the  plants  which 
remain  to  stand  about  ten  inches  or  a foot  apart. 
These  plants  will  then  form  large  heads  and  afford 
the  grower  whiter,  tenderer  and  more  crisp  leaves 
than  those  pulled  earlier  in  the  season.  (See  Fig.  6 
for  heads  of  different  varieties  grown  in  hotbeds.) 

Lettuce  can  be  grown  in  the  garden  as  a com- 
panion crop  between  cabbages  or  cauliflower  or 
other  slow-growing  plants.  In  such  cases  the  lettuce 
seed  is  sown  or  the  seedlings  transplanted  into  the 
bed  containing  the  main  crop.  The  lettuce  will  reach 
a usable  size  before  the  other  crop  is  beginning  to 
be  crowded. 

When  a long  season  of  harvesting  is  wanted  it  is 
necessary  to  make  a succession  of  plantings  two 
weeks  or  more  apart,  but  in  case  the  main  part  of 
the  lettuce  comes  to  maturity  before  the  hot  weather 
of  summer  §ets  in,  the  late  grown  lettuce  is  too 
tough  and  bitter  to  be  relished. 

Muskmelon — This  crop  does  best  on  a clay-loam 
soil  which  is  well  drained.  The  seeds  should  be 
planted  in  hills  in  the  garden  in  practically  the  same 
manner  as  cucumber  . Where  the  land  has  not  been 
well  fertilized  with  manure  it  is  a good  plan  to 
remove  the  earth  in  the  hill  to  a depth  of  four 
inches  and  put  on  the  bottom  two  inches  of  well- 
rotted  manure,  fill  in  an  inch  of  soil  and  scatter 
several  seeds  about  over  the  top.  These  are  cov- 


46 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


ered  with  about  an  inch  of  soil  and  then  well  firmed. 
The  hills  should  be  about  five  or  six  feet  apart,  and 
the  method  of  tillage  practiced  as  for  cucumbers. 

Onion — For  home  use  and  for  some  market  pur- 
poses, where  the  succulent,  blanched  stems  are 
wanted,  the  onion  is  propagated  by  planting  small 
bulbs  which  are  formed  on  different  parts  of  the 
onion  plants  the  year  before.  These  small  bulbs  are 
obtainable  on  the  market  under  various  names, 
depending  on  what  part  of  the  plant  they  were 
formed,  as:  sets,  top-onions,  multiplier  or  potato 
onions,  scallions,  etc.  These  bulbs  are  planted  close 
together  in  rows  in  good  garden  soil  and  in  a few 
weeks  will  have  formed  stems  of  sufficient  size  to 
be  eaten. 

In  growing  onions  for  winter  use  the  seeds  are 
started  either  in  hotbeds  or  in  a seedbed  in  the  open 
field,  and  when  the  seedlings  are  about  a foot  high 
they  are  transplanted  to  rows  in  the  field,  in  which 
they  are  set  about  three  inches  apart.  They  are 
generally  planted  in  long  rows  and  the  cultivation 
done  with  a wheel-hoe. 

Onion  seed  deteriorates  rapidly,  and  in  buying 
seed  it  pays  to  get  the  best  it  is  possible  to  obtain. 

Okra,  or  Gumbo — This  plant  will  do  well  on  any 
good  vegetable  land.  The  seeds  should  be  sown  in 
the  spring,  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  workable,  dropping 
the  seeds  two  or  three  inches  apart  in  long  rows,  and 
after  the  plants  have  begun  to  crowd,  thin  out, 
leaving  the  plants  standing  about  a foot  apart  for 
the  dwarf  varieties.  The  pods  should  be  cut  before 
they  get  of  such  an  age  that  they  are  stringy  and 
tough.  For  continuous  fruiting  all  of  the  old  pods 
should  be  kept  removed. 

Parsley — The  leaves  of  this  plant  are  used  for  gar- 
nishing and  seasoning  meats  and  soups,  and  it  is  so 
easily  grown  that  it  should  be  grown  in  more  kitchen 


FRUIT- GROAArER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  47 


gardens  than  it  is.  Two  or  three  plants  removed 
from  the  garden  in  the  fall  and  put  in  pots  or  boxes 
make  attractive  window  plants  and  will  supply  a 
small  family  with  plenty  of  leaves  all  winter. 

It  is  a near  relative  of  the  carrot  and  parsnip, 
and  is  grown  in  the  field  in  essentially  the  same  way. 

Parsnips — These  plants  need  a deep,  rich  soil, 
much  the  same  as  for  carrots.  Only  the  best  and 
freshest  seed  should  be  used  and  should  be  planted 
thickly  in  long  rows  early  in  the  spring.  Since  the 
seed  germinate  slowly,  it  may  be  advisable  in  land 
which  is  weedy  to  mix  the  parsnip  seed  with  some 
quick  germinating  seed,  such  as  radish,  which  will 
serve  as  a marker  in  cultivating.  The  radishes  can 
then  be  pulled  for  use  as  they  begin  to  crowd  the 
parsnips. 

Cultivation  should  be  kept  up  till  the  foliage  be- 
comes dense  enough  to  shade  the  ground. 

Peas — This  vegetable,  like  all  other  leguminous 
plants,  requires  a soil  which  is  not  too  rich  in  nitro- 
gen, but  which  contains  an  abundance  of  potash  and 
phosphorous.  The  soil  should  be  in  good  tilth  and 
the  seed  planted  as  early  in  the  spring  as  danger 
from  frost  is  over.  In  loose  soil  the  seed  should  be 
planted  in  trenches  about  four  or  five  inches  deep 
and  covered  with  an  inch  of  soil;  then  as  the  seed- 
lings get  large  enough  the  soil  should  be  filled  in 
the  trench  and  firmed  about  them.  In  heavier  soils 
the  seed  should  be  planted  in  ordinary  drills  on  the 
surface  and  covered  about  an  inch  deep. 

Only  shallow  cultivation  should  be  given,  loosen- 
ing the  surface  -every  week  or  ten  days  and  after 
every  rain. 

The  dwarf  varieties  may  be  planted  sixteen  or 
eighteen  inches  apart,  but  the  taller  varieties,  which 
need  to  be  staked,  should  have  from  two  to  two  and 
a half  feet  between  the  rows. 


48 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


Pepper — Peppers  require  rather  a long  season  for 
their  growth  and  should  be  started  in  the  hotbed  in 
February  or  March,  sowing  the  seed  thickly  in  flats 
and  then  transplanting  to  other  flats  when  of  a 
sufficient  size.  The  garden  soil  should  be  light  and 
warm  and  contain  plenty  of  humus.  It  setting  in 
the  field  plants  should  be  set  in  rows  eighteen  inches 
by  two  and  a half  feet.  Cultivate  well  throughout 
the  season  to  keep  down  the  weeds  and  conserve  the 
moisture. 

In  gathering  the  pods  disagreeable  burns  are 
sometimes  caused  by  the  juice  of  the  fruit,  unless 
gloves  are  worn.  This  irritation  may  be  relieved  by 
washing  the  hands  in  sweet  milk. 

Radish — Radishes  and  lettuce  are  the  most  highly' 
prized  and  most  extensively  used  of  the  spring  vege- 
tables. The  radish  requires  a light,  loose,  rich  soil, 
in  which  it  should  make  a quick  growth.  It  can  be 
grown  as  a companion  crop  with  any  of  the  other 
spring  vegetables,  as  it  is  out  of  the  way  before  the 
other  crops  begin  to  be  crowded.  Like  lettuce,  it  is 
quite  hardy  and  can  be  planted  very  early  in  the 
spring  without  danger  of  its  being  injured  by  late 
frosts. 

The  seed  should  be  sown  thickly  and  then  thinned 
to  about  two  inches  apart.  Repeated  sowings  are 
necessary  in  order  to  have  crisp  radishes  in  a contin- 
uous supply. 

Radishes  are  very  extensively  grown  during  the 
winter  in  greenhouses  for  market  purposes  and  any- 
one with  a small  hotbed  need  not  be  without  a supply 
during  the  winter  months.  The  seed  are  sown  in 
drills  six  or  eight  inches  apart,  either  by  themselves 
or  between  rows  of  some  later  maturing  crop,  as  let- 
tuce or  cauliflower.  The  soil  should  be  especially 
rich  and  friable  so  as  to  supply  plenty  of  plant  food 
and  enable  the  plant  to  make  a rapid  growth.  In 


FRUIT-G KOWKK  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  40 


forcing,  during  the  winter,  the  plants  should  be 
rrather  close  to  the  glass  of  the  hotbed  sash  and  the 
seedlings  thinned  to  about  two  inches  apart.  This 
will  keep  the  plants  from  forming  too  much  top  in 
proportion  to  the  root. 

Rihubarb — This  plant  is  a perennial  and  its  place 
in  the  garden  should  be  in  a long  row  at  one  side, 
where  it  will  not  interfere  with  the  cultivation  of 
other  plants.  For  best  growth  it  should  have  a very 
heavily  manured  soil,  and  have  a good  dressing  of 
manure  spread  over  the  bed  every  winter.  Rhubarb 
may  be  grown  from  seed,  but  it  is  more  easily  and 
quickly  propagated  by  dividing  the  roots  of  an 
established  plant.  In  the  fall,  after  the  leaves  have 
all  been  killed  by  frost,  but  before  the  ground 
freezes,  the  roots  should  be  dug  up  and  divided, 
leaving  one  or  more  good  buds  on  each  piece.  These 
pieces  then  are  planted  about  four  feet  apart,  in 
rows.  As  soon  as  the  ground  freezes  after  planting 
a heavy  dressing  of  manure  should  be  spread  over 
the  row  and  worked  in  well  in  the  spring.  The  beds 
should  be  renewed  every  four  or  five  years,  and  all 
flower  stalks  pulled  out  as  fast  as  they  appear. 

Rhubarb  can  be  forced  in  winter  very  easily  by 
removing  the  old  roots  from  the  soil  after  they  have 
been  frozen  slightly  and  then  packing  them  close  to- 
gether in  a cool  cellar,  covering  up  with  a few  inches 
of  good  soil  and  watering  sparingly.  In  a short  time 
the  plants  will  push  out  an  abundance  of  leaves  hav- 
ing very  thick  stalks,  but  small  blades.  These  stalks 
are  whiter  and  not  so  acid  as  those  grown  in  summer 
in  the  field.  As  soon  as  the  roots  have  formed  all  of 
the  leaves  they  will,  they  should  be  thrown  away,  as 
they  are  worthless.  Rhubarb  is  also  forced  in  winter 
* by  placing  over  a hill  a barrel  having  both  head  and 
bottom  removed  and  surrounding  the  barrel  with  a 
cone-shaped  pile  of  fresh  manure.  The  heat  fur- 


50 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


nished  by  the  fermenting  manure  will  afford  suffi- 
cient warmth  to  force  the  plant  into  growth.  On 
cold  nights  or  days  the  barrel  should  be  covered  f 
with  some  boards  or  old  sacks. 

Salsify,  or  Oyster  Plant — The  seeds  of  this  plant 
should  be  sown  in  a deep,  rich  garden  soil  early  in 
spring,  planting  in  drills  two  or  three  feet  apart,  de-  - 
pending  on  the  manner  of  tillage.  The  plants  should 
be  thinned  to  stand  two  or  three  inches  apart.  They 
require  the  entire  season  for  their  growth,  and  unlike 
most  root  crops  need  not  be  dug  up  and  stored  for 
winter  use,  except  in  the  north,  where  the  ground 
freezes  deeply  and  remains  so  for  some  time. 

Squash — The  squash  is  easily  grown  in  any  quick, 
warm  soil,  a sandy  loam  being  the  best.  The  seed 
should  be  planted  in  hills  as  -early  as  possible  after 
danger  of  frost  is  past,  so  as  to  give  the  plants  all 
summer  in  which  to  mature  their  crop  before  the 
early  frosts  in  autumn  injure  the  vines.  The  hills 
should  be  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  across  and 
contain  from  six  to  ten  seeds.  Their  subsequent 
treatment  is  practically  the  same  as  for  cucumbers 
and  muskmelons. 

Spinach,  or  Spinage — This  crop  is  used  primarily 
for  “greens”  in  the  spring.  It  is  of  easy  culture  and 
does  well  in  any  good  soil.  The  seed  should  be  sown 
where  the  plants  are  to  stand,  for  if  transplanted 
the  shock  which  they  receive  will  usually  cause  them 
to  run  to  seed  too  quickly.  For  early  spring  use 
plant  the  seed  thickly  in  drills  during  August  and 
September,  the  year  before,  and  protect  slightly  dur- 
ing the  winter  with  mulch  of  straw.  The  plants 
should  be  thinned  to  two  or  three  inches  apart  where 
too  thick. 

- 

Spring  sown  seed  may  be  put  in  as  early  as  the 
ground  can  be  worked  and  the  plants  are  ready  to  be 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  51 


pulled  in  about  six  weeks,  but,  of  course,  are  very 
much  smaller  than  those  sown  in  the  fall. 

9 Sweet  Potato — Sweet  potato  plants  are  propa- 
gated from  sprouts  from  the  tubers.  Sprouts  are 
abundantly  formed  if  the  tubers  are  place  in  a single 
layer  in  a hotbed  or  coldframe  and  covered  with  a 
*few  inches  of  soil.  When  they  have  become  three  or 
four  inches  high  the  sprouts  are  carefully  removed 
from  the  tubers  and  planted  out  in  the  field  when 
the  ground  is  warm  and  the  weather  settled.  The 
rows  should  be  four  or  five  feet  apart  and  the  plants 
set  two  feet  apart  in  the  row.  They  will  need  to  be 
given  good  care  in  setting  and  carefully  cultivated 
till  they  get  established,  after  which  only  an  occa- 
sional cultivation  is  necessary.  The  vines  should  not 
be  allowed  to  root  down  at  the  joints  and  can  be 
prevented  from  doing  so  by  moving  the  vines  about 
during  cultivation.  The  tubers  should  be  pulled  as 
soon  as  the  tops  have  been  killed  by  frost.  In  stor- 
ing sweet  potatoes  for  winter  they  should  be  placed 
in  a warm,  dry  place,  and  should  be  handled  with- 
out bruising  in  any  way. 

Tomato — The  tomato  prefers  a sandy  loam,  a 
warm  position  and  a long  season  in  wlrch  to  mature 
its  crop  of  fruit.  The  plants  should  be  started  in 
flats  early  in  the  spring  by  sowing  the  seed  thickly 
and  be  transplanted  as  soon  as  having  made  the 
second  leaves  to  other  flats,  giving  each  plant  about 
an  inch  of  room  on  each  side.  They  should  not  be 
forced,  but  allowed  to  make  a slow,  steady  growth, 
as  much  stronger,  stockier  plants  will  result.  They 
should  be  able  to  stand  up  when  transplanted  to  the 
field,  even  though  they  be  somewhat  wilted.  A com- 
mon practice  is,  when  transplanting  the  first  time, 
# to  put  them  into  old  tin  cans  or  strawberry  boxes, 
from  which  they  may  be  set  in  the  field  without 
disturbing  the  roots  at  all. 


52 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


With  the  tall-growing  sorts  the  best  fruit  will  be 
had  when  the  plants  are  trained  to  a single  stem  and 
tied  to  a pole.  In  such  cases  the  side  branches 
should  be  kept  pruned  in  to  about  a foot  in  length 
and  allowed  to  make  only  one  or  two  fruits  each. 

Turnip — For  an  early  crop  the  seed  should  be 
sown  in  drills  in  a rich,  mellow  soil.  The  seed  should 
be  only  slightly  covered,  but  firmed  somewhat  and 
the  young  plants  thinned  to  four  to  six  inches  in  the 
row.  The  turnip  rapidly  becomes  woody  on  the  ap- 
proach of  warm,  summer  weather,  and  for  a continu- 
ous supply  several  plantings  should  be  made  and  the 
young  plants  pulled  before  they  become  too  fibrous. 

Turnips  are  more  commonly  grown  as  a fall  crop, 
the  seed  being  sown  in  drills  or  broadcast  over  the 
surface  in  mid  or  late  summer,  after  the  other  crops 
are  out  of  the  way.  They  are  left  in  the  field  till  the 
tops  have  been  killed  by  the  frost,  when  they  are  dug 
up  and  stored  in  a cool  cellar  or  pit  for  winter  use. 

Water  Melon — This  plant  reaches  its  highest  de- 
velopment in  the  warm  south,  where  it  has  a long 
season  in  which  to  grow.  In  the  north  only  the 
warmest  and  quickest  soils  should  le  used.  The 
seeds  may  be  sown  in  the  open  field  or  on  pieces  of 
inverted  sod  in  the  hotbed  and  transplanted  to  the 
field.  The  hills  should  be  prepared  and  planted  in 
the  same  way  as  for  cucumbers.  Where  too  many 
plants  are  in  a hill  some  should  be  removed,  leaving 
three  or  four  to  remain.  In  cultivating,  care  should 
be  observed  to  not  injure  the  vines,  as  they  are  very 
sensitive  and  where  very  much  injured  form  only 
imperfect  fruits. 

MONTHLY  PLANTING  CALENDAR. 

Some  of  the  principal  operations  of  the  year  are 
here  referred  to  and  are  intended  more  as  sugges- 
tions for  the  inexperienced  gardener  rather  than  to 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  53 


the  growers  who  have  had  more  practice.  These 
remarks  should  be  regarded  more  as  suggestions 
*than  definite  statements,  since  the  conditions  of 
different  soils  and  locations  as  well  as  the  winter 
weather  determine  in  the  greater  degree  what  should 
be  done  at  certain  times  of  the  year. 

* January — During  this  month  we  should  begin  the 
work  of  preparing  the  garden.  Manure  should  be 
spread  over  those  parts  of  the  garden  needing  it 
most,  and  more  should  be  piled  in  stacks  to  rot  and 
be  ready  for  use  next  year.  Get  the  hotbed  ready  for 
•early  spring  crops.  Send  for  the  catalogues  of  reli- 
able dealers,  and  look  over  any  seeds  which  may  be 
on  hand,  testing  them  to  see  if  they  are  worth  plant- 
ing. Lifeless  seeds  of  cauliflower,  parsnip,  onion  and 
others  means  disappointed  hopes  later  in  the  season. 

February — The  hotbeds  should  be  started  during 
this  month  and  the  seed  of  cauliflower,  cabbage, 
tomatoes  and  egg  plant  should  be  sown  in  flats  in  the 
hotbed  in  order  to  be  ready  to  set  out  as  soon  as  the 
soil  is  warm  enough.  The  seedmen’s  catalogues 
should  be  looked  over  and  an  order  placed  early  for 
seeds. 

March — Transplant  tomatoes  onions,  cabbage, 
radishes  and  lettuce  which  were  in  flats.  Harden 
these  off  during  latter  part  of  the  month  and  make 
ready  to  set  in  the  garden.  As  soon  as  the  soil  is 
workable  spade  or  plow  up  the  garden  and  sow 
onion  sets,  out-door  radishes  and  lettuce.  Get  the 
rest  of  the  garden  worked  up  and  ready  for  planting. 

April — This  and  the  month  following  are  the 
times  when  the  larger  part  of  the  garden  should  be 
planted.  Asparagus  roots,  peas,  beets,  celery,  cab- 
bage and  potatoes  should  be  planted.  By  the  middle 
of  the  month  parsnips,  carrot^,  salsify  and  egg  plant 
may  be  planted  in  the  garden  seed  bed.  Tomato  and 
cabbage  plants  from  the  hotbeds  should  be  given 


54 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


more  exposure  to  the  outside  air,  leaving  them  out 
every  night  that  is  not  too  cool.  The  early  planted 
seeds  will  need  cultivating  to  keep  free  from  weeds' 
which  will  be  starting. 

May — Thinning  of  the  early  planted  crops  must 
be  done  as  well  as  planting  the  remainder  of  the 
seeds.  Tomato  and  cabbage  plants  can  now  be  set. - 
Keep  the  cultivator  going. 

June — Celery  from  the  hotbed  should  be  set  in  its 
permanent  place  in  the  garden.  Begin  sowing  seed 
of  the  late  fall  crops,  and  repeat  plantings  of  the 
early  crops  which  are  now  being  gathered.  Cease 
cutting  asparagus  toward  the  last  of  the  month  and 
let  the  shoots  grow.  Tomato  plants  will  need  to  be 
staked  to  keep  the  fruit  off  the  ground.  Stir  the 
ground  well  after  each  rain. 

July — Cauliflowers  which  have  begun  to  head 
need  to  have  a few  leaves  bent  over  the  flowers  to 
protect  them  from  the  sun.  Sweet  potato  tops  should 
be  moved  about  in  cultivating  to  keep  them  from 
rooting  at  the  joints.  Cultivate  now  to  conserve  the 
moisture  and  enable  the  plants  to  grow  continuously 
throughout  the  dry  period  of  summer. 

August — Cut  all  weeds  in  the  fence  corners  to 
keep  them  from  going  to  seed  and  re-seeding  the 
garden.  Thin  the  late  sown  crops  and  thoroughly 
cultivate  the  celery.  Get  the  hotbeds  ready  for  early 
winter  use.  The  onions  should  be  ready  now  for 
gathering,  and  should  be  well  dried  and  stored  for 
winter  use. 

September — This  is  the  month  when  the  celery, 
cabbage  and  cauliflower  are  making  their  most 
vigorous  growth  and  they  should  be  well  cultivated; 
the  celery  will  need  to  have  the  leaves  drawn  up 
about  the  stem  and  some  shade  provided  for  the 
lower  part  of  the  leaf  stalks.  Toward  the  latter  part 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  55 


of  the  month  blanching-  should  begin.  Sow  the  seed 
^)f  crops  to  be  wintered  over  for  early  spring  use. 

October — The  blanching  of  celery  should  now  be 
w^ell  under  way  and  the  tops  will  need  protection 
with  a covering  of  straw  on  cold  nights.  During  the 
latter  part  of  the  month  the  celery  may  be  dug  up 
^.nd  planted  in  boxes  or  in  a dark  corner  of  the 
cellar  for  winter  use.  All  root  crops  which  have  not 
already  been  dug  up  and  stored  should  be  looked 
after  this  month.  Lettuc^  which  may  be  wanted  for 
winter  use  should  be  planted  this  month.  Rhubarb 
and  asparagus,  if  wanted  for  winter  use,  should  be 
dug  up  and  either  covered  where  it  stands  on  the 
ground  or  stowed  away  in  a shed  or  cold  cellar  for 
a month  or  two,  when  it  may  be  taken  into  a warmer 
place  and  will  be  fit  for  use  in  a month  or  so,  accord- 
ing to  the  temperature. 

November — The  stalks  of  asparagus  should  be  cut 
off;  and  as  asparagus  sometimes  becomes  a weed 
from  the  seed  dropping  it  is  better  to  burn  the  stems 
if  there  are  seed  on  them.  Spread  a dressing  of  old 
manure  three  or  four  inches  thick  on  the  asparagus 
bed.  Whenever  it  is  practicable  all  empty  ground 
should  be  dug  or  plowed  this  month. 

December — During  this  month  one  can  look  over 
the  successes  and  failures  of  the  season’s  work  and 
make  plans  for  next  year.  Root  crops  stored  in  pits 
will  need  a thick  coat  of  litter  and  soil  spread  over 
them  to  protect  from  the  hard  freezes.  Spinach 
crop  in  the  ground  should  also  have  a covering  of 
litter  or  straw.  Manure  and  compost  heaps  should 
be  turned  frequently  to  hasten  the  process  of  fer- 
mentation and  be  ready  for  next  season’s  use.  Snow 
*that  accumulates  on  the  hotbed  sash  should  be  re- 
moved, as  the  plants  are  deprived  of  light  and  the 
melting  of  the  snow  may  cause  ice  to  form  in  the 


56 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


cracks  between  the  sash  and  cause  difficulty  in 
airing*  the  beds.  All  rubbish  in  the  garden  which  was 
left  after  harvesting  the  season’s  crops  should  be 
cleaned  up. 


- 


FRUIT-GROWER  CO.,  ST.  JOSEPH,  MO.  57 


* CONTENTS. 

THE  SOIL — Page 

In  General  6 

^ Soil  Water  8 

Makeup  of  Soils  and  Subsoils  9 

Drainage  11 

Fall  Plowing  12 

Tillage  13 

Rotation  of  Crops  14 

Fertilizing  15 

Laying  Out  the  Garden  18 

Hotbeds  and  Coldframes  19 

GARDEN  SEEDS — 

Longevity  of  Seeds  23 

Testing  of  Seeds  2 3 

GARDEN  CROPS — 

Asparagus  24 

Bean  28 

Beet  29 

Cabbage  30 

Carrot  : 31 

Cauliflower  32 

Celery  35 

Corn  38 

Cucumber  38 

Eggplant  39 

Ginseng  4 0 

Horseradish  41 

Kale  4 2 

Kohlrabi  4 2 

* Leek  44 

Lettuce  44 

Musk  Melon  45 


58 


THE  HOME  GARDEN 


Page 

Onion  46. 

Okra,  or  Gumbo  46 

Parsley  4 6 

Parsnip  4 7 

Peas  4 7~ 

Pepper  4 S'*' 

Radish  4 S 

Rhubarb  49 

Salsify,  or  Oyster  Plant  50 

Squash  5 0 

Spinach,  or  Spinage  50 

Sweet  Potato  . 54 

Tomato  51 

Turnip  5 2 

Water  Melon  5 2 

Monthly  Planting  Calendar  52 


t 


